Future Mario Brothers
by Snodin
Summary: In the far future, a new terror threatens Mushroom World. Our only hope lies in the rebirth of two legendary heroes... who also happen to be plumbers. NEW: "Lost."
1. Heroes Reborn

The future has no certainty

_The future knows no bounds, for the future is not yet written._

_For many years, the Mushroom World had relied on the humblest yet bravest of its people to keep it safe from the forces of evil. Their stories- both strange and inspiring- would pass on from one eon to the next, from generation to generation. In time, the world would forget just how humble and unlikely those legendary heroes were._

_But everyone knew that one day, whether within ten or a hundred years, they would be needed once again. When, exactly? Only the future could tell._

_And the future knows no bounds._

**Future Mario Brothers**

Chapter 1: "Heroes Reborn"

"INCOMING!"

_Wzzzzzzzz…_** BOOM!!**

A hailstorm of Bullet Bills fell from the sky, launched like cannons from a huge and dark airship, as it inched its way ever closer to Cyber City. This great and beautiful metropolis, where green grasslands and dainty flower patches once stood, found itself plunged into chaos. Over and over again, a building was hit. Debris rained down. Alarms went off. Toads, humans, Koopas and Goombas alike were scattered around in a mad panic.

The Mastermind was attacking again.

From deep within the heart of the city, only one special team kept their cool. Even as civilians whizzed by them or even bumped into them, the police squad marched down the street. They were mostly Toads, some humans, and a handful of green-shelled Koopas. All of them were armed with what appeared to be black bazookas.

In front of the line, armed with some kind of rifle, stood their Chief. He was a tall black human, bald-headed, sunglasses pressed against his eyes, ever giving the no-nonsense look. He wore a bullet-proof vest over a light blue blouse and dark tie; his star badge pinned proudly over his heart. He had seen far too many attacks like these; in fact…

"This is the third raid this week," he moaned softly.

The squad formed a square out in the open, where they could get a fair enough view of the on-coming Bullet Bills.

"Alright men," hollered their commander, "same format as yesterday. Ready! Take aim…"

They raised their bazookas in the air, awaiting the next barrage of missiles.

"…Fire!!"

The elite police force then fired a most bizarre form of ammunition from their cannons: silver mushrooms! But these mushrooms were more than what they seemed; they were Spring Mushrooms. As soon as they collided with a Bullet Bill, the enemy missile ricocheted back into the sky and landed just outside of the city gates.

"Reload!"

For one fleeting moment in time, as the officers reloaded their cannons with more mushrooms, they were open to attack. That's when the dark metallic airship launched a new set of weapons: small robotic airplanes that looked almost like toys. As with the Bullet Bills, there were painted faces on these planes with bared sharp teeth and angry slit eyes. In a sharp "V" formation, they swooped through the city's skyline and plunged downward toward the police force. They opened fire with laser-like pellets.

"Shields!" screamed Chief Starburn.

The officers moved as quickly as they could to raise their shields against the fireballs, but for some it was too late. As one officer after another fell, they vanished in a small poof of smoke, thus indicating their death.

But one officer remained unshielded, and that was Chief Starburn. He whipped out his firing rifle at these swooping airplanes and fired fireball-like pellets right back at them. His aim was almost as sharp as his wit, as he took down nearly half of their numbers.

Then all at once, the planes were gone and the Bullet Bills were back.

"Fire at will!"

For the next ten minutes, the cycle repeated: Bomb drops, mushrooms, airplanes, shields, smoke puffs, and bombs again. It was only until at last the airplanes were completely destroyed, when the last rainfall of bombs fell on Cyber City. It was as if the airship had reached the limit of its ammunition, or perhaps it was done toying with its enemies. Either way, the attack came to a sudden stop.

All was quiet in the city for a moment, which scared the hiding civilians all the more. The Chief and his squad stood their ground, their weapons lowered, waiting for the next move.

Then it came, in the form of a loudspeaker: "People of Cyber City, you have fought bravely today. Enjoy your peace while it lasts, for you haven't yet seen the last of us! Ha-hahahaha! Mastermind has spoken!"

The airship then picked up speed and made a frantic U-turn away from the city, which was now smoking and riddled with small craters. When at last it left, the badly shaken civilians slowly crawled out of their hiding places. Some of them had just lost their homes, their businesses, their schools, their playgrounds…

Chief Starburn bared his teeth in frustration. Enough was enough.

**Mushroom Kingdom**

Since the dawn of Mushroom World's existence, this charming little land full of lush habitat had been the very beating heart of the planet. It was here, nearly a century ago, where the kindest of princesses lived, as did two of the mightiest heroes the world had ever known. Even now, so many decades later, this kingdom would still hold the key to ending the newest threat of evil.

Marching straight up to the while castle and forcing its front doors open were the Chief, along with the Mayor- a Goomba- of Cyber City.

"Chancellor!" called out the Mayor, only to be replied by the echo of his own voice. "Guards! Anyone! We need to speak; it's an emergency!"

"Hold on now," cooed the voice of an elderly gentleman somewhere in the hall.

Out from behind a statue of a long past princess came a small bespectacled Toad. Like so many of his kind, the bulge on his head was white with red spots. He wore a princely black uniform lined in gold, except most of it was covered up by his long grey beard. Apparently, he was watering the flowers surrounding the statue. "I am Master Jeebs. How may I help you gentlemen?"

"We have an emergency over at Cyber City," replied the shaken Mayor. "We need to talk to your Chancellor, or even her Highness if she's available."

"Now, now…" mused the elderly Toad, as he glanced over to the ivory statue. "I'm afraid her Highness, Princess Peach, is no longer with us."

"Not _her_," corrected the Goomba Mayor impatiently. "The current princess! Her great-granddaughter!"

"Ooooh!" smiled the old Toad. "You mean Princess Cherry!"

"Yes," sighed the Mayor. "Is she here?"

"As a matter of fact," said the old Toad as he fiddles with his armless glasses, "she's setting up a meeting with her counselors right now. They're going to discuss something about a master of minds… err, something of that matter."

"Mastermind," growled the Goomba Mayor; the very sound of that name made his blood run cold.

"Oh, you know him?" smiled Jeebs.

The Mayor was about to blow a gasket, when Chief Starburn stepped in and gently palmed the mayor's head. "I think it's best that we attend this meeting."

"Oh, suit yourself. Follow me." Jeebs gave them a bow and led them on through the great hall, where banners and statues of past Toadstool rulers were all that remained of them.

None of them would even notice the tiny circular orb in the window, with a single eye that flashed red. It was a spy camera…

**Dark Island**

Far away, on a small island that was once the home of kindly dinosaurs, stood a massive steel palace where the sun never shone. This was the home of the infamous lord of all evil: The Mastermind.

No one seemed to know what he looked like, or what he truly was, because there was more machine to him than flesh and blood. He sat in the shadows every day, on a spiky throne, tapping a finger of one of his dozens of tiny mechanical amputations. It clicked as it moved.

The almost completely black room saw light at last, when the doors to the throne room were cracked open by a small red-violet Shy Guy. Nervously, it crept closer to the creature sitting in complete darkness.

"Mastermind," it softly said, "our Spy Guy has infiltrated the Mushroom Castle, just as you commanded."

The small metallic finger stopped tapping. "…Not bad," mused a deep, harsh voice that vibrated like a car engine. "Not bad at all, Shy Guy. You've done well so far."

The robed little figure hiding behind a pale mask made a humble bow. "Oh, thank you sir, thank you! I'll make sure it doesn't miss a single thing!"

"There's only one thing I don't want to miss," replied the vibrating voice. "Those fools at Mushroom Kingdom will plan something, I just know it. As long as I know what they're planning, I have nothing to fear."

"You've never had anything to fear, Your Lordship! King of all Mushroom World, Master of all living things, Keeper of plans, Duke of-"

"That's enough."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"…Do me a favor will you, Shy Guy?"

"Sir?"

Two red beacons appeared through the darkness as eyes. "Call me Master. **Always**… call me Master."

**Mushroom Castle**

Hiding behind the royal throne room was a large office with a great, tan round table, every seat occupied with either a human or a Toad. The one figure that stood out the most was the only woman in the room: Princess Cherry.

Like her foremothers, she had the same dainty, doll-like face with deep blue eyes. She wore a single blue jewel on the collar of her long white dress, which had rosy pink frills and a matching pair of rosy pink gloves. Her long hair was black, with a part in her bangs; it was so thick, one might actually miss the petite crown atop her head. She kept cool and quiet, while her counselors filled the room with outbursts regarding the so-called "Mastermind."

Also present in the room were two honored guests: Chief of Cyber City Police Starburn, and Mayor Goomba of Cyber City, who stood atop the table- he was far too short for a seat of his own. For the first few minutes of the meeting, all the gentlemen could do was file complaints on their enemy.

"Can I just say something on behalf of my city?" snapped the little Goomba dressed in a black suit and yellow badge. "Just this morning, we've been bombarded with missiles and toy airplanes! Our defenses are on their last legs, and to make matters worse, there're no more time machines left to take us back and fix any of this!"

"Sir…" Chief Starburn hushed him.

"Ahem," Mayor Goomba replied with. "Sorry. We're just asking for your advice."

The princess nodded. "I understand your frustration completely, Mr. Mayor. We were just debating on whether we should make a peace treaty with Mastermind, or launch an attack on his island with all the troops we have left."

"Outrageous," huffed a mustached Toad with a green vest. "Mastermind will never settle upon peace! Besides, he'll take it as an offering of surrender."

"We're increasingly losing our soldiers," shook the head of a man. "If Mastermind attacks Cyber City tomorrow, then we'll lose _all_ of Sarasa Land _and_ our closest allies."

"Which is why we should attack NOW!" stomped Mayor Goomba.

"Attack with what?" frowned Princess Cherry. "The Koopas have all abandoned this kingdom, leaving the rest of us vulnerable. I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I'm afraid we have no choice but to negotiate with him."

The men all began to grumble under their breath.

"What have we got to lose by attacking Dark Island?" asked Mayor Goomba. "Sure, they'll be casualties; but it will all be for the best."

Again, the princess frowned. "You don't seem to care about sacrificing lives, sir, but I do. I can't bear to have one more innocent creature harmed by that madman and his minions."

The Mayor argued, "There's not a soul in this kingdom that wouldn't gladly lay down his or her life for the sake of our freedom. Believe me, princess, you go ask the nearest Toad or Man, and he'll go running towards that island without a second's notice."

"Pardon me," Chief Starburn raised his index finger. "I have just one question. Where have all the Koopas gone?"

The princess bowed her head; "No one's sure. Some believe they went off to find their lost king. Others say they've changed sides completely and are now part of Mastermind's army."

"Well that's just like them," Mayor Goomba furrowed his brows. "Sneaky, double-crossing turtles! Only wanna be on the winning side."

"You of all people should talk," snapped a human. "When's the last time we saw a Goomba fighting on the side of good?"

"I'm HERE, aren't I?" shouted the offended Mayor.

"Enough!" shouted Princess Cherry, finally losing her patience. "All of this shouting is getting us nowhere. It's time we put it to a vote: All in favor of a peace treaty, raise your hand."

Only two raised their hands; the princess herself, and a humble Toad.

"…All opposed?"

Twelve hands were raised; Mayor Goomba waved his tiny brown foot to make a thirteenth vote.

Princess Peach closed her eyes in dismay. "It seems unanimous then; we'll have to plan an attack… But who, dare I ask, can we send into battle?"

The group huddled and murmured their answers; each one seemed to be in favor of a particular species, but none could agree on which was the strongest or bravest.

Then suddenly, a Toad in a purple vest spoke up: "We could, um… bring _them_ back."

The room's eyes fell directly on him, and all at once he was uncomfortable with having so much attention.

"What did you say?" asked Chief Starburn with a raised eyebrow.

The Toad gulped nervously. "Well, um… uh, i-it was just a thought! But maybe, just maybe… we could bring them back."

"Bring who back?"

"You know! …_Them_."

"…You lost me," shook the Chief's head.

Then the princess stood up from her throne with eyes closed and a face as stern as rock. "I know who he's talking about."

"Oh please, do tell us!" smiled the Goomba Mayor excitedly.

"Well," started Cherry, "it's a long story… Many, many years ago, when my great-grandmother was still a princess herself, the Mushroom Kingdom was in a very different kind of war- a war that cut the whole land into two factions. Those that fell under the side of darkness were ruled by a Koopa tyrant named Bowser…"

Her audience could see it now: _A giant green Koopa, spiked from head to tail, breathing dragon's fire menacingly. He stood atop a tower overlooking thousands of Koopas; there was a lightning storm in the sky, finalizing the true terror Bowser was._

"Bowser truly was a king in his own right- the King of the Koopas. But over time, he grew mad with power and constantly tried to seize both my great-grandma and the entire kingdom. There was no way of knowing just how far his conquest would have gone, because he soon met his match: not one, but two human men. They were known as… The Mario Brothers."

Already, their imaginations were running wild. _Surely these men were huge- huge enough to take on a spiky green Koopa and win! Maybe they used swords- or guns- or perhaps they led a vast army that outnumbered Bowser's! Or maybe they were magicians that could inflict devastating spells…Or maybe they were more than human. Maybe… they were like gods._

While the hearts of her audience ran wild, Cherry continued her fable. "Time and time again, the Mario Brothers outsmarted the Koopa King, until at last he was too old and tired to go on. When Bowser at last retired from his campaign, so to did the brave heroes. They lived out their lives as peacefully as anyone would have hoped… But then…"

"…But then, what?" blinked the Goomba Mayor curiously.

"Then," continued the princess, "the people of this kingdom began to worry. Who would protect them after the Mario Brothers had gone, they wondered? How could we assure our safety? One man had the answer: his name was Professor Elvin Gadd. He was a brilliant scientist; he made many of the 'Gaddgets' we still use today. But perhaps his greatest achievement was his last.

"Professor E. Gadd spent the last months of his life building a cryogenic machine that could hold any individual and keep them frozen in time. But he did more than that. You see, by then the Mario Brothers were too old to carry on in their adventures, and so the Professor had them cloned. Their clones had proven to be exact carbon copies of the originals- looks, personalities, everything down to their uniforms were exact. So I'm told."

"And," guessed Chief Starburn, "those two were the ones put into the freezing chamber?"

The princess nodded, "Yes. They waited until they were at the right age- the same age as the original Mario's began their adventures- and then they agreed to be frozen in time. The people of this kingdom then made a solemn vow to never awaken these promised heroes until the time was right."

"The time _is_ right!" shouted the police chief, punching the table with enthusiasm. "Your majesty," he then softly begged, "if these guys are the real deal, and they are sleeping in some kind of chamber, then we have to wake them up!"

"Sir-"

"We need a miracle, folks! If we can't stop Mastermind, then who else will?"

"Sir, please!" gasped Princess Cherry with a look of fright in her eyes. Everyone seemed shocked by her sudden change of attitude and fell silent. "Please," she softly gulped, "…If we awaken the heroes now, they won't be able to fall back into their frozen sleep. Once it's done, it's done."

Chief Starburn then softened his eyes for once. "…Does that bother you, Princess?"

"I'm just afraid… of what could happen to them, or to us, if anything goes wrong. Besides, they're the last of their kind."

"No they're not," spoke an elderly Toad nearby. Jeebs, who until now kept a low key, approached the troubled princess with warmth in his beady little eyes. "Don't you worry, my princess. They may be special, but so are we. We all have greatness within us. And another thing, I believe the police chief is right; we need a miracle, and that miracle could be dozing away right under our noses! Perhaps it's best to finally out the ol' Professor's scheme to the test, eh?"

Cherry took a deep breath before calming herself down. She smiled with a nod. "You're right, Jeebs. It's probably for the best."

"Then we're all in agreement," smiled Mayor Goomba. "What're we all waiting for? Show us the chamber!"

"Right away," smiled Jeebs.

The little butler walked past the table, over to a wall where a giant painting of the Mushroom Castle was placed. But then Jeebs had proven the painting to be much more than it seemed by jumping up and tapping the castle's highest window.

In an instant, the room made a small quake that made everyone jump to their feet in surprise. The table's top opened up like a tin can, levered by its robotic legs. Underneath it appeared a long staircase that seemed to descend into a forbidden abyss.

"Like I said," smiled the old Toad butler, "right under our noses!"

The group stood in awe at the stairs. Jeebs nonchalantly grabbed the nearest candle, lit it, and marched down the stairs without hesitation. Both curiously and cautiously, Princess Cherry and her council followed him.

Jeebs made quick work of lighting many torches on the age-old stone walls of what appeared to be a basement- or a dungeon. Dust and cobwebs littered the place, making just about everyone uncomfortable.

"What _is_ this place?" coughed Chief Starburn.

Said the small Toad butler with a confident smile, "This is an old cavern, built by my own ancestors. Originally, it was designed as a shelter for the royal family in the wake of an attack on the castle. Now it's the secret resting place… of _them_." He then pointed forward.

Everyone followed his tiny hand, until their eyes fell on a most bizarre-looking machine. It had two large metal cylinders, one with a big green "L" on its front, the other right beside it with a large red "M." Beside the cylinders was a giant computer system with hundreds of little buttons on it.

The group slowly approached the cylinders; they stopped a few inches away, for all at once the air around them dropped to a bone-chilling cold.

"Brr," shuddered the princess. "It's so cold…"

"Is this it?" muttered the police chief. "Is this… the cryogenic chamber?"

"Oh, this is it alright!" nodded Jeebs. "Now, there's some kind of music code to activate it… Hmm… Uh, well let's see, um… How did it go again?"

"A music code…?" echoed Chief Starburn. He bravely approached the computer buttons, and pressed a red button.

"**La"**

The sound was loud and frightening; most of the company gasped in surprise.

"Okay," gulped the Chief. "Let's try… this one." He pushed a yellow one.

"**Re"**

And another. And another.

"**Fa"** … **"Do"** … **"Mi"**

"No, no, no!" shook Jeeb's head, waving his arms in fret. "It's not just one note, sir; it's a combination- a _tune_ that activates it!"

"Come on, man! We don't have all day!" urged a Toad in blue. "What is the code?"

The princess then followed Chief Starburn's lead and looked at the buttons carefully. "Hmmm… My parents used to sing me lots of songs when I was younger. I wonder if…" By figuring out the color matches of the notes, Princess Peach attempted one familiar tune.

"**Mi-Mi-Mi, Do Mi So, So (low octave)"**

"_**Eeeeeeee!"**_

"Whoops," gasped Jeebs, recognizing the alarm. "That's not the right one, princess. Try another one."

"Hmm," hummed the princess, and tried again.

"**Mi Mae Mi, So Mi Mae Fi Mi"**

"_**Eeeeeeee!"**_

"Aww. I like that one too," she frowned.

"I got it!" clapped Chief Starburn's hands. "We're underground, and there's only one tune that fits underground!" With his confidence renewed, the police chief once again approached the buttons. But there was a new problem: he wasn't exactly sure which note fit with which button.

"Uhh, uh… _Dum-dum, dum-dum, dum-dum_," he sang softly to himself.

"Of course," smiled the princess. Together, they showed each other just what combination of buttons worked:

"**Do-Do, La-la, Ti-ti"**

_WHOOSH-SH-SH-SH-SH!_

The ancient ones had gone through a lot of trouble to keep their secret weapons just that, a secret. Now, the earth below everyone's feet trembled dramatically. Red and green lights flashed through the room. Beeps, alarms, whizzing of high-pressured smoke buzzed through their ears. Then, a full chorus of that old "underground tune" boomed out.

From behind the two metal cylinders, pumps bobbed left and right at a manic speed, which worked as part of the revitalizing system. As air pushed out, electricity poured in. Within seconds, the ice around the two life forms inside melted away. But all of the shaking and pressurizing was too much for the old machine to take…

**KABOOM!**

A blast of energy pushed everyone across the room and into the farthest wall. Debris fell from the ceiling, and smoke nearly suffocated them all. Some were even knocked unconscious, but all things considered, no real harm was done.

Coughs and gags were abound, as each person one by one picked themselves up off the floor and dusted their shirts (or dress, in the princess's case).

"Is everyone alright?" called out the police chief.

"Oww."

"Ugh."

"Man."

"I think I felt something snap."

"I'm alright," replied Princess Cherry.

"Good," smiled Chief Starburn. "…Wait, where's the Mayor? Mayor!?"

"Mm-fmm-mmph! Mmm-mmmm!"

Starburn nearly lost his balance completely, as he realized he was stepping on Mayor Goomba. He stepped aside quickly. "Sir! Are you okay?"

The flattened little creature's eyes rolled around. "I've… had… better days…"

"Uh, guys?" peeped the Toad dressed in green, as he pointed forward. "Look… The gates…"

Princess Peach and her council stared in awe, as the cylinder cones slowly slid open. From inside, a wall of deep blue smoke emerged, and seemed to be endless. Somewhere inside that wall of smoke and hollowed shells were two individuals, waking up for the first time in ages.

Everyone braced themselves. _This was it. In mere moments, they would gaze into the eyes of pure power- the eyes of Herculean strength, of powerful magic, of angels sent straight from Heaven. If the legends were true, then these waking men were truly gods in the flesh!_ Those were just the kind of expectations running through everyone's minds, as the smoke began to clear.

…They were about to get the shock of their lives.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Every Party Has A Koopa

The future has no certainty

**Chapter 2: "Every Party Has a Koopa"**

Tensions ran wild as dark smoke seeped out of the newly-opened shells of an ancient cryogenic freezing chamber. Somewhere within those shells lie two reborn heroes of legend. Who they were and what they looked like was a mystery, but everyone present at the sight was sure that they'd be big and breathtaking to the eye.

The tallest and bravest man present, Chief Starburn, approached the machine first. He wiped sweat from his brow and adjusted his sunglasses- yes, he still wore them, even in a darkened room as this. He got close enough to take in some of the icy air oozing out of the opened chambers. And then…

**GAG! Cough! Gag! Wheeze! Cough-cough-cough-cough! Pant, pant, WHEEZE! Cough! Cough! Gag! DEEEEEEEEEEP BREATH**

Starburn was taken back by the outbursts of gas and coughs; they were coming from a slender individual from within the "L" chamber. He, the small man inside, appeared to be no more than an average human with a big nose, smooth mustache, green cap, a matching green long-sleeve shirt, white gloves denim blue overalls, and brown shoes. When at last he opened his big blue eyes to the world, he realized he wasn't alone. All at once, he switched from manic gagger to a warm0smiling gentleman.

"'Ello! I'm-a Luigi!" He then extended his gloved hand to Starburn, who was at a complete loss for words except for a small "Uhh… I…"

**Cough-cough-cough-cough! Gag!** came from the opposite chamber moments later.

A much smaller man, with almost the exact appearance as the first one except for a red shirt and cap, a slightly more detailed mustache, and a pudgier build emerged waving smoke out of his face.

"Whew!" he gasped. "We shoulda asked da Professor to put a lil' _more_ smoke in dere, uh?"

The green twin laughed at the joke. "Dassa good one, Mario!"

While the two men in overalls shook off their initial shock of revitalization, their audience was completely stunned. _Where were the capes? The swords? The burliness? …Who the heck were _these_ guys,_ they wondered.

"Um," Starburn finally spoke, "you two are…?"

"Oh!" smiled the short red one. "Scusi for no introduction. I'm-a Mario Mario, this is my lil' brother Luigi Mario."

"We've met," nodded Luigi, remembering the first thing he said.

"And together," announced his twin, "We are…"

"The Mario Brothers!" they cheered in unison, striking a pose.

Still, their audience stared in shock.

Mario then whipped out a wrench from somewhere behind his back and asked, "So, where's da fire? Or should I say da Koopa?"

Luigi, who similarly pulled out a plunger from behind his back, took the first brave step forward… only to fall flat on his face. "WAH!" **Splat!**

"Whoops!" Mario looked down from his chamber. "Watch yo' step, lil' brother! Hee-hee!"

"I dunna remember da platform bein' _that_ high," moaned the flattened one.

As the smaller yet (apparently) older brother made a more graceful jump to the ground, Chief Starburn scratched his bald head. He thought he was seeing things. "Uh, hold on a second," he said. "Who did you say you were again?"

"I'm-a Mario," nodded the little man dressed in red. By now, his recuperated brother joined his side.

"You're… You're really the Mario Brothers? Of the ancient legends?"

"Ancient?" blinked the little man. "Waddya mean ancient?? We're only twenty years old!"

"Yah," frowned Luigi worriedly. "What year's-a dis?"

"…Oh boy," gulped the police chief. "I dunno how to tell you this… but it's been at least one hundred years since you two fell asleep."

The two small men dropped their jaws in utter shock; for one moment, they were so stunned that they couldn't even move. Then, the smaller one stated firmly, "Wow… I mean **wow**! It took us _that_ long to be needed!? Has da Mushroom Kingdom been okie-dokie until just now?"

"Just _now_??" echoed the bewildered green one.

"Well, um…" the chief started to say, until he finally noticed the legends' weapons of choice. "Wh-what're you doing with that wrench?"

"Oh, dis?" mused Mario. "Dis issa my lucky wrench. I use it fer plumbing alla time."

Starburn didn't think he could get more disappointed, but now… "…Plumbers," he muttered deeply. "…You two… are plumbers?"

"I thought da plunger was obvious," replied Luigi, pointing to the object in his hand.

"Ugh, I don't believe this," whispered the tall black man under his breath. He turned around to face his equally-stunned group. "I… I dunno what to say. They tell me they're the ones we've been waiting for, and… they turn out to be plumbers."

"'Ey!" called out Mario. "Wassa wrong wit us bein' plumbers, uh?? Who else you gonna call when you get a leak? Da pharmacist?" His twin giggled in reply.

"No offense you guys," said Starburn as he turned back to face him, half smiling; "but we were kind of expecting something a little more… well… not you."

"Dat's okay," smiled Luigi as he leaned on his plunger. "We were expecting to wake up to a beautiful princess. So, I guess we' even, ah?"

"The princess," echoed Starburn; he had almost forgotten about her!

"I'm here," replied the soft voice of a young woman. She, Princess Cherry, walked into the light to gaze upon her promised heroes. Unlike her associates, her face beamed with hope and enthusiasm. Awestricken, her heroes tipped their hats and bowed before her.

"Please," she smiled, "that's not necessary. I'm Princess Cherry, daughter of Queen Olive. On behalf of all my people, welcome back to Mushroom Kingdom."

Meanwhile, as she and her heroes exchanged introductions, Starburn was called away by Mayor Goomba. They had a much different discussion of their own.

"This can't be right," whispered the furious Goomba. "Those two can-_not_ be the heroes of legend. Look at them! They're so short, and out of shape!"

"Pardon me sir," Starburn whispered back, "but these two did come out of the freezing chamber, just like the princess said. It can't all be a coincidence."

"Balderdash. Someone else must have known about this place and switched the real heroes with these two."

"They called themselves 'Mario.'"

"There can be hundreds of Mario's running around here."

"Sir-"

"Nope, I won't have it. If I needed a plumber, Starburn, I would have called one up, _not_ wake him up from a _century-old __**cryogenic**_FREEZING CHAMBER!"

A moment of silence fell upon the underground room; it would seem that Mayor Goomba's outburst gave him away. The Mario Brothers were particularly stunned by what they heard.

"Whadda you saying, you don't need us?" blinked Luigi dejectedly.

"No, no! We do need you," insisted Princess Cherry. "He didn't mean what he said, he's just surprised by all of this. That's all."

"Yeah, yeah…" gulped the Goomba nervously. "Uh, princess, if you don't mind, me and Chief Starburn are gonna head back to our city and inform our people of… the newcomers."

"Yes," nodded Starburn in full agreement. "Everyone should know that the Mario Brothers- plumbers or not- are back."

"Yeah!" cheered the twin brothers, who both jumped for joy.

Starburn and his Mayor made their goodbyes quickly and made a hasty retreat from the cavern. Then the smallest and eldest of Toads approached the rejuvenated plumbers.

"My name is Jeebs, and it's an honor to meet both of you! My gram-pappy Toadsworth kept you two safe from the world all this time. I'd be more than happy to inform you about all of the important details about what's happened in between your time and ours."

"Grazie!" nodded Mario with a cheerful smile.

Once Mario and Luigi were escorted out of the underground cavern, the tiny Spy Guy came diddling along on a set of thin spider legs. It was as small as an insect, so no one took notice of it as it crawled at lightning speed from one corner to the next. Its single flashing-red eye focused on the two unfamiliar figures walking alongside Princess Cherry down the great hall of the castle. It would only be a matter of time until its master would receive these images back at his base.

In time, the princess showed them family pictures of kings and queens from previous generations. It was Plum, daughter of Peach, who succeeded her; followed by her daughter Olive, and then Cherry. Cherry herself had no husband yet, but she did have an engagement ring on her finger which she proudly showed her two guests. When asked who she was betrothed to, she simply said, "Prince Bruno."

As for the other kingdoms, the plumbers were surprised to learn that Sarasa Land was no longer a kingdom, but now a set of Seven Cities, with Central City being home to the royal family. They now let the power of the land pass on to a republic, which was currently on the verge of signing itself over to The Mastermind. The Mushroom Kingdom's top priority at that point was securing the few cities Sarasa Land had left.

As for the others- Dinosaur Island, Waffle Kingdom, Beanbean Kingdom, Kong Jungle, the isle of Dolphina- they were completely overrun by Mastermind and his minions. The two plumbers were shocked to learn about this…

"Why did we not come back sooner?" asked Mario on that subject.

"Yeah," nodded Luigi, "We maybe coulda done-a somethin' about it."

"It all happened so fast," frowned Cherry, as the three of them sat on a bench in the castle's courtyard. "Most of Mastermind's takeovers happened within the year. And, they say that those who don't cooperate with him during the takeover gets some kind of machine attached to their head, which turns them into his personal puppets. That's probably where his name comes from."

Mario curiously scratched his chin in deep thought. "Who is dis guy really?"

Cherry answered, "He's the second-born son of Bowser the First."

The plumber brothers exchanged glances at each other; they knew full well of Bowser having at least one son… but not a second.

"Hmm," hummed Mario. "Well, dat's a lil' surprising. But if he is a son o' Bowser, den we can probably take care o' him in a day or two."

"You don't understand," shook Cherry's head. "They say he's more machine than Koopa. If what they say is true, then he must be far more powerful than any Koopa before him."

"A Cyber-Koopa?" gulped Luigi. "…I gotta admit, we never faced anything like-a dat before."

"No problemo Weegie," replied Mario. "There's nothing we can't-a fix around here."

"Yeah; but Mario, mind control? Hostile takeovers? It all sounds so-"

"Nothin' ta worry about! A Koopa's a Koopa, and we beat 'em alla time! Capire?"

Luigi furrowed his brow at his twin, whom to him seemed a little too confident for his own good. "…But, um-"

"_Eccoti! Dai vieni!_" growled Mario as he tugged his brother by one of his suspenders away from the startled princess. Once secluded from her, Mario leaned forward to whisper to Luigi. "I know this is all new to us, fratellino, but for Goomba's sake don't make the princess any more worried than she already is!"

"I didn't-a mean anything by it, Mario," muttered Luigi apologetically.

"…Alright, alright. Just-a try to stay on da positive side, izzat so hard?"

"…"

"Or say not'ing at all, whatever works! Great! Princess!!" Mario then marched back to Princess Cherry, who seemed perplexed in their abrupt disappearance and reappearance. He then assured her with a smile, "We just talked it over, an' Luigi an' I are more den ready to take on dis… uh?"

"Mastermind?" blinked the Princess.

"Yeah! Yeah, dat's it! We're-a ready an' willing to march right on over to dat castle right now and-"

"Oh! Wait, wait, wait," she interrupted with hands waving. "You really shouldn't go running off so quickly. Besides, I thought it'd be best to first give you two a proper introduction to the kingdom. I mean, it's been so long and I know so many people who'd want to meet you."

"Oo!" chimed Luigi. "You mean like a party?"

"Yes!" cheered the princess. "Oh, that sounds like a good plan. We'll throw a Grand Ball, a Coming-Out Ball! What do you say?"

The twins looked at each other to think it over momentarily. Sure, the times were dark, and an evil mastermind of some sort was running around rampantly… but the Mario Brothers were never ones to turn away from a party!

That night, everyone who could was welcome to the castle's grand ballroom dressed to the nines. Jeebs was among many Toad butlers serving drinks and pâté to the guests. The ballroom itself was white-walled and gold-lined all along the walls and ceiling, topped off with a giant oval chandelier covered in diamonds.

Such an event caused Mario and Luigi to dress up themselves in tuxedos, with Mario wearing a red bow tie and sash while Luigi's were dark green. Aside from the fact that they were still wearing their plumber caps, they looked more dashing than ever. It was a much more complimentary look to their reputation as legends; still, deep down, they were ready to attack the snacks and dance floor.

At one point, Princess Cherry was talking to a tall heavyset woman wearing a lavender dress and a matching mink boa, holding a wand with small glasses attached to it.

"So Cherry," said the Duchess of Water Land, "I hear you've met two young men who may defeat The Mastermind. Is that correct?"

Cherry smiled sheepishly, "Oh-ho! Word does travel fast around here, doesn't it? Yes, Duchess, they're here in fact! Wait 'till you see them; they're so charming, and decent, and…"

Just then, Mario was walking by with God knows how many pastries in his mouth. "Mm-hmm-mff-mfgh," he mumbles, crumbs dropping from his lower lip. He then took a huge gulp and proceeded to lick his gloved fingers. "Somebody outta tip da chef; these lil' taco-thingies are great!"

"They're called éclairs, Mario."

"Éclair?? Huh! I once heard of a princess by that-a name… Bet she was nowhere near as sweet as this." **Burp!** "Oo! Scusi. Gotta go get more o' dose before Weegie puts 'em all away!" He then trotted off.

Cherry blushed as she turned to face a disgusted Duchess. "Charming and decent, I'm sure. Hmph." The snotty Duchess marched off before Cherry could say anything. But then, she figured it was just as well; the Duchess always was a bit too fussy about her taste in men.

Meanwhile, Luigi was having a misadventure of his own. While couples filled the dance floor during a waltz, he was eager to meet someone knew. He didn't care who would dance with him, as long as someone would- the loneliness was almost too much to bear. Then at last, a young woman about his size came weaving through the crowd, looking for a dance partner of her own.

Luigi was beside himself with shock. He recognized her dainty doll-like face, her sparkling blue eyes, her spunky reddish-brown hair, and her- wait, that wasn't a yellow and orange dress she was wearing, it was teal and lavender this time! But that flower-shaped jewel on her dress collar… there was no mistaking it.

He batted his eyes, as if waking from a long dream. "…Daisy?"

There was no way this girl walking around could be Princess Daisy of Sarasa Land- she'd be over a century old! But Luigi couldn't help himself; he just had to see her up close and find out for sure. It took him a while to get to her, what with all the couples waltzing in the way. But he caught her right on time as she was about to step away from the dance floor.

He grabbed her wrist, which gave her a gasping surprise. "Augh! …Who are you? What do you want?" she blurted out in fear.

"Daisy," he smiled pleasantly; "it's-a me. Luigi."

"…Daisy?" she furrowed her brow.

"Don't you remember me?" he asked. "Oh, you remember my clone-papa though, don't you? He was a Luigi too. No wait, I'm Luigi 2, he was Luigi 1. Oh, anyway… Gosh, you look just as I remember you!"

"I'm sorry," shook the young lady's head, "I don't remember you."

"But it's you! I know it." He was still holding her hand, and probably didn't even realize she was trying to pull herself away.

"Let go of me, you creep! GUARDS!"

Luigi gasped in shock as he was suddenly surrounded by spears. Terrified, he let go of the young lady and grasped his chin instead. This gave the young lady a chance to make an escape, which she did.

One of the Tanooki guards hissed at him. "How dare you attack Princess Dahlia! She's our honored guest!"

"And so is he," intervened Jeebs just in time. The guards raised their spears in honor of the castle's most prestigious groundskeeper. "I assure you, gentleman, Mister Mario here meant no harm. It's all just a misunderstanding. Now go, back to your lookout posts."

The grudged Tanooki guards left, while Jeebs patted a visibly shaken Luigi on the back. "There, there sir. No real damage done, see?"

The plumber bowed his head in both humility and confusion. "…It was her. …I know it was her."

"Princess Dahlia?" blinked Jeebs. "Ooh… She's the great-granddaughter of Queen Daisy of the Beanbean Kingdom."

"Bean-bean…?"

"Yes. Don't you recall it? She married that Prince Peasley a long time ago. …You were there, weren't you? …Or was that the other you?"

It all came back to him now; Luigi nodded very slowly as he faintly remembered what happened to his clone donor so long ago. "Ooh… I… I guess you're right." Then he remembered Dahlia. "…Mama mia, I really gave her a scare, didn't I?"

Jeebs chuckled, "Oh-ho-ho. Don't you worry about Princess Dahlia. She's as much a firecracker as her gram-mama. I could introduce you to her if you'd like."

"No-no, dat's okay," Luigi shook his head sadly. "I'd probably just make a bigger fool o' myself… Thanks though." Before Jeebs could comfort him anymore, Luigi made a quick escape from the scene. He was so embarrassed with himself that he decided to clear away from those who knew him best. It would seem as though being alone was, for the time being, the best thing for him after all.

Elsewhere, by a great staircase, Princess Cherry was taking some time away from the growing crowds. It wasn't that she was shy of her supporters, but rather she was looking for one particular guest, who hadn't appeared to show up yet. In her disappointment, she leaned on the banister of the lowest step and let out a deep sigh.

From behind her, a dark figure with bright yellow eyes appeared. With great green arms with black bracelets on them, he reached out to her, grabbed her, and pulled her underneath the stairs before she could even let out a scream. But then he wheeled her around to reveal himself to her: an impressively large Koopa with a red short-cut moehawk and a beaded black collar around his neck which matched his bracelets. Atop his head were bull-like horns.

He smiled at her with fearsome fangs. "We meet again, Princess."

There was once a time when the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom would shudder or tremble at the presence of such a significant Koopa… but not this time. "Bruno!" retorted Cherry as she crossed her arms. "I've told you before not to scare me like that!"

The young Prince of Koopas shrugged, "What? I can't help myself, Cherry… You're so fetching! Hee-hee-hee. Get it? Fetching? Heh-heh… Yeah."

She then smiled at him warmly; "I was starting to think you wouldn't show up."

"Well," frowned Bruno, "your people and mine aren't exactly on speaking terms yet, you know. I had to sneak in here from the back."

"Speaking of our people…"

"Oh, yes. My Koopa Troopas are already on the move. We're heading back to Dark Land; that's where I hope to find my father."

"Is he still alive?"

"I'd say so… At least I hope so."

The princess palmed his big scaly cheek in comfort. "Aw, Bruno… So much has happened lately. Oh! You should meet the Mario Brothers. They're here!"

"The who?" blinked the big Koopa Prince.

"Mario and Luigi- or their clones, rather. Oh, it's a long story, but I'll tell you soon. The point is they're here, and they're willing to fight your evil uncle."

"…Oh no."

"What? What's wrong, Bruno?"

"My uncle… I just remembered! He's-"

**BOOM!!**

An entire wall of the ballroom exploded, or rather was bombed, at that very moment. The guests fell off their feet as the ground rumbled and tossed underneath them. Debris fell from the ceiling, and smoke filled the air. It took everyone a good three minutes to realize what had just happened.

Just as some of the party guests were getting to their feet, a line of robotic Koopas marched through the hole in the wall, armed with long spears with laser nozzles at their ends. They lined up in formation, pushing everyone aside to make way for something even bigger. Just outside, one could hear the eerie sound of an airship making its landing.

There was a long pause before the sounds of stomps came forward. The good people of Mushroom Kingdom fell frozen with fear as a huge, almost fully-metallic Koopa crawled through the hole where a wall once stood. This particular Koopa seemed to be built like a Centaur, with a bipedal torso connected to a quadruped one at the hip. The frontal torso was armored and war-painted, so it was hard to tell exactly what its true shade was. Its shell spikes were actually a network of tiny clawed arms that could extend for several feet. Its long tail was forked like a vice. As for its head, it was masked with a silver replica of the old King Bowser, with red beacons glowing from its eyes and a red boa for hair.

From a safe distance, Prince Bruno held on to Cherry protectively. He gulped, "…I was going to say 'He's coming,' but he's already here."

The great centauric cyborg gazed slowly at the cowering people, until his red eyes fell on two small men approaching him fearlessly. He knew right away who they were. "So," he spoke in a vibrating voice, "these are the two 'legendary heroes' I've heard about."

Mario raised an eyebrow at the creature. "You know us?"

Not one to give away all of his secrets, the cyborg simply replied with, "I am The Mastermind. For years I've waited for someone worthy of challenging me… But now, as I look at you, I find myself a bit… disappointed."

Mario and Luigi exchanged faces. "We're not as weak as you think, you big ugly… whatever you are!" replied Mario defiantly.

"Is that so?" grinned Mastermind under his mask. "In that case, I'm quite glad I decided to crash this party. Now that I've had a good look at you, I'll know who to shoot at."

"There'll be no shooting around here!" called out Princess Cherry, quickly making her way across the ballroom. "I will not allow it!"

"Ah, Princess," Mastermind slightly bowed his head to her. "I was hoping we could discuss a treaty, that way we could avoid any future casualties."

"No treaties," warned Mario. "We're gonna settle this once an' for all, the old fashioned-a way! Let's take this outside!"

"Much talk from someone so small."

"Hey," warned Luigi with a raised voice. "You better watch what you say, he's-a sensitive about his height!"

"Let's-a go. Right now!" growled Mario as he put up his dukes.

"Oh, by all means!" replied Mastermind. "Let us finish each other in front of all of these innocent bystanders…" He waited for Mario to lower his fists in regards of the helpless people around him. "I thought so," nodded Mastermind. "We _will_ finish this, gentlemen, but we'll do so on my terms. Come to my lair on Dark Island if you dare; it'll be the last place you'll ever see."

"Uncle!" cried out a voice. Everyone turned to see another big Koopa coming their way, only this one was a lot smaller and less threatening than The Mastermind.

"Bruno," hissed the big cyborg. "I should have known you'd come to your princess."

Mario and Luigi quietly reacted to this enlightenment with a pair of dumbfounded faces.

"Leave them alone, Uncle," warned the young Koopa Prince. "This should just be between you and me. Leave the Mario Brothers out of this."

"I would, dear nephew, but it seems they insist on going to war. Feel free to join them in their doom… At leas then, you'll be reunited with your father."

Dragon breath puffed through Bruno's nose in fury, but Cherry held him back from charging fully at the cyborg.

"Well, this has been fun," mused The Mastermind, "but it seems I've outlived my stay. Robo-Troopas, fall back to the airship!" His mindless soldiers obeyed and marched back out of the leveled wall. "Until we meet again," Mastermind bowed to his enemies, and with fully-metallic back legs he crawled out of the scene and into his parked airship outside.

The Mario's, along with Prince Bruno and Princess Cherry, followed quickly behind him, but watched from the ground as the dark airship quickly launched itself into the air.

"_Che mostro!_" screamed Mario as he threw down his cap in fury.

"Mario," chirped Luigi nearby, "watch the blood pressure now."

With his anger still unsatisfied, Mario turned his attention to the only Koopa left present: Bruno. "You! Why didn't _you_ stop him from attacking da castle!?"

Bruno defensively raised his claws. "I couldn't- I mean I tried to…"

"Please don't blame Bruno," frowned Cherry. "He's got nothing to do with this."

Mario looked back and forth at the princess and the large green Koopa. "…You're engaged to this guy?"

"…Yes?" she replied nervously.

Again, he looked back and forth at the human girl and the reptilian male. "…ARE YOU CRAZY!?"

"Mario!" snapped Luigi.

"Look at this… Look at da mess that guy made here! Da castle's been attacked, Luigi, an' we're supposed to stand here and do nothing? I- I outta… Augh!"

Bruno bravely stepped forward once Mario had slightly calmed down. "Now you know how desperately we need help. I'll be glad to assist you, but first I need to find my father, the true King of Koopas. He's been missing, you see."

Mario sighed deeply as he hung his head in exhaustion. "…You' right. I'm-a sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay, I'm used to it."

The little man then turned to the princess apologetically. "I'm very sorry, bambina mia."

"It's alright," she nodded. "And don't worry about the wall. We can get this place cleaned up in no time."

The little plumber balled a fist in determination. "I'm-a not gonna let 'im get away with dis. Luigi, starting tomorrow we're gonna join up with the police force an' start our own army of resistance fighters. Mastermind wants a war, ah? Then we'll give 'im one he'll wish he never started!"

"Yeah," Luigi replied with his own balled fist. "Um, but first let's-a clean up da mess, ah?" Mario nodded; if there was anything else they were good at besides plumbing, it was also carpentry. They headed off to get tools right then and there.

Meanwhile, the young princess clasped hands with her fiancé and gave him an assuring smile. "…If those two really are as the legends describe, then this kingdom is in good hands."

"I hope you're right Cherry," Bruno gave her a half smile. "I so hope you're right…"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Italian Translations:**

-Capire?: Understand?

-Eccoti! Dai vieni!: Here! Please come now!

-Fratellino: little brother/ kid brother

-Scusi: Excuse/Pardon me

-Che mostoro!: What a monster!

-Bambina mia: My child


	3. The Short End of the Plunger

The future has no certainty

**Chapter 3: "The Short End of the Plunger"**

Since there was no longer a home for the Mario Brothers to stay, they were given their own quarters in the Mushroom Castle. The bedroom they picked out once belonged to Cherry when she was a child, and her Toad servants went out of their way to make a bunk bed for the new guests. As usual, Mario slept on the top mattress, and Luigi took his place on the lower one. That next morning, before the sun rose, Luigi slipped into a deep dream, and started to see things that could have been, or never were…

"_Mario, play nice with your lil' brother!"_

_Luigi could see himself and his twin as infants. Both wore diapers and tee-shirts; Mario's were red while Luigi's were bright green. They had matching caps, not unlike the ones they wore in the present. Their faces were almost completely blank, except for pairs of beady blue eyes and noses that they would grow into in time. Papa Mario and Mama Pauline watched in the background, as the toddlers engaged in a duel with inflatable baseball bats._

_One by one, each youngster took a swing at each other, but no damage had been done. Up until now, Mario had been playing by the rules, but eventually he grew tired of playing it cool. He knew he was stronger than Luigi, and he had to prove it._

WHACK!_ Right on Luigi's head with a swift blow came Mario's balloon. The impact was so sudden and forceful, the little green child bust wildly into tears._

"_WAAAAAHHHH!"_

"_Mario!!" snapped Mama Pauline, who immediately rushed to little Luigi's side. She picked him up like a doll and cradled him until he calmed down._

_She then turned to her slightly older son with anger in her eyes. "You play too rough, bambino mio! Can't you see he's smaller than you? Why can't you be more gentle?"_

_As she cooed and consoled the weepy Luigi, Mario narrowed his eyes in frustration. He had seen this cycle before: Play, play harder, cry, Mama gets mad. He was starting to get tired of it. He was starting to get tired of Luigi._

The dreams went on…

_Some time later in time, Mario and Luigi- this time about three years old- were riding their tricycles down a paved walkway in a fungus-filled park._

"_Come on, Luigi. Let's race to the corner!" challenged little Mario._

"_Okay," smiled little Luigi. Try as he could, little Luigi peddled those skinny legs of his like never before. Without warning, his legs began to spin like wheels of their own, hitting a speed only a normal three-year-old could dream of. But it wasn't enough. _

_Just when he was about to reach the corner, Mario came from behind and purposely collided his front wheel with Luigi's big back one. The green child spun out of control and forced himself to stop, just inches away from the finish line._

_Mario laughed victoriously as he rounded the corner first; "No fair!" cried out Luigi._

Luigi stirred and turned in his sleep as the dreams progressed…

_At six years old, the young twins were invited to play a baseball game with some other children in their neighborhood- which mostly consisted of Toads. They waited eagerly in a line as names were being called out for the teams:_

"_I pick… Chester."_

"_I pick Marcus."_

"_Toad… Heh, what an original name."_

"_Mario."_

"_Yes!" murmured the boy in red as he happily joined his team._

"_Edgar."_

"_Julio."_

"_George."_

"_Sylvia."_

"_What?? Sylvia?" cried out Luigi in protest. "She's a girl!"_

"_Who cares?" At that point, the team leaders realized that there was only one child left to pick, and they were both reluctant to do so._

"_Eh, fine. Luigi."_

_Little Luigi stomped his foot. "How come I'm-a always picked last? Why cannna I be first for once?"_

"_Because," answered his cocky older brother, "You're small, you're whiny, and you're younger than alla us. Face it, Luigi, you'll always come in second."_

_Luigi had just about enough of this. He had put up with it for far too long, always coming up short while Mario soaked up the glory! Outraged, he spat, "FINE! Go ahead an' play wit'out me. I dunna feel like-a playin' anymore." He stormed off in spite._

"…_Luigi?" blinked a surprised Mario. "…Come on, fratallino, I was only joking… Luigi!?"_

_It was too late. He was gone._

"_Ah, forget about him Mario," said one of the Toads. "He'll get over it. Besides, you were right. He is too small."_

"_And too whiny," suggested another Toad._

"_Help… HELP!" came a voice in the distance._

_The first Toad recognized that voice right away. "See? He's whining even now."_

"_Mario! Help me!!" came the voice again._

_Something trickled down Mario's spine that he had never felt before. It was cold feeling, an uneasy feeling. He knew right then and there that his little brother truly was in trouble._

"_Luigi?" he sputtered in fear. "…Luigi! I'm-a coming!!"_

_Mario took off like a bat out of hell in the direction his brother's voice was coming from. He skidded to a halt when he saw there was no more ground left to set foot on. It was the edge of a very deep river, which pushed its way strongly toward a sewer way. Mario's worst fears had come true: Luigi was in the water, and he was drowning._

"_Mario…!" gurgled the helpless Luigi, as his arms quickly tired from paddling against the currents. Closer and closer he came to a large green pipe, which certainly would have carried him to his doom._

"_Mario… Help me! …__**Mario!"**_

"Mario! Help!! Save-a me-YAH!"

In his stricken panic, Luigi fell right out of bed with arms flapping as if they thought they were wings. The "thud" he made was loud enough to wake his brother on the top bunk.

"Wat da-??" blurted out the nightcap-wearing plumber. Realizing where he was, he softly and carefully leaned over the edge of his bed, and saw that Luigi was sprawled out on the floor.

"Weegie? …Wadda you doin' down dere?"

"Uuugh…" moaned the stunned Luigi. "…Drowning?"

"Gettup, yo' silly nincom-Koop. You musta been dreaming."

Feeling dizzy, Luigi pulled himself up- literally. Then muttered, "Dat was no dream… Dat was-a real."

"Uh-huh. I bet you swim in bed ev'ry night, ah?"

"Mario… Do you remember wen we were kids? Do you remember me fallin' in a river?"

"What? Wat you talkin' about? We never been in a river."

"But I remember it, like it just-a happened."

"Weegie, you mind- it's-a playin' tricks on you. Go back to sleep, okay? And dis time, pretend you're not falling down somewhere. Okay?" Then Mario made a big sigh and turned over to fall back to sleep.

Luigi remained puzzled as he crawled back into his own bed. That dream felt real; it _had_ to be real… But as he recollected his thoughts, he realized that his fellow clone was right. In reality, they never set foot near a river. Not once… What was going on?

**Cyber City**

"Officers! Stand at attention for your commanding officer, Chief Starburn!"

It was an uneasy morning for Chief of Police Arthur Starburn, for he was about to introduce two unlikely additions to his few but proud officers. They, a motley crew of Koopas, Goombas, Toads and Tanooki, waited in line for their commander to announce the hope they had all been waiting for: the arrival of reinforcements.

But like Mayor Goomba, Chief Starburn had his doubts about the Mario Brothers. After all, nothing in the legends mentioned them being plumbers. For all he knew, his Mayor was right- these two were imposters. Still, he promised them that he'd set a place for them in Sarasa Land's one and only line of defense against The Mastermind. …But how was he to introduce them to his troops? He thought it over quickly.

Starburn strategically stood right in front of the smaller Mario's as he made his announcement: "…As you all know, our police force is the only defense Sarasa Land has against the oncoming attacks from Mastermind's minions. And if we fail, not only will we lose what's left of our beautiful country, but The Mushroom Kingdom will be a sitting target for Mastermind to steamroll through. But I am pleased and honored to announce to you men that we have two new recruits in our ranks. They came straight from Mushroom Kingdom itself. Please give a nice, warm welcome for… ahem… the Mario Brothers."

He stepped away, letting his troops gaze in silent surprise at the sight of two short mustached men in denim overalls.

"Ciao!" smiled Mario excitedly, while Luigi smiled and waved.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence until a Koopa officer blurted out, "_These_ are the guys Princess Cherry threw a party for?"

"We legendary heroes," pointed out Luigi. The unconvinced officers began to whisper to themselves.

"Please allow me to explain," said Chief Starburn abruptly. "The Mario Brothers have been in retirement ever since the war between The Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Dynasty came to an end."

"What's with the overalls then?" wondered a Tanooki out loud.

Mario was going to answer the question, but Starburn intervened with, "That's not important. What is important is you guys getting to know Mario and Luigi a little better, because like it or not, they're gonna help us reclaim Sarasa Land."

There were negative murmurs coming from the officers at that point, and just when Starburn was about to calm them down, Mayor Goomba made an unexpected entrance to the police headquarters. He bounded on his legless feet with high hopes, until he came to a stop in front of the legendary heroes.

"My, my! What a beautiful day for a battle. Everyone looks so well-dressed and armed to the tee- oh no, not these two."

"Buon pomeriggio," smiled Luigi as he tipped his hat to the mayor.

"I'm not Portuguese!" spat the confused Mayor. "Starburn, big news! One of Mastermind's airships has been spotted in Central City. It looks like they're going to target the royal family!"

The officers gasped in horror; Starburn was quick to respond. "Alright, nobody panic! Break out all the heavy artillery, boys, 'cause we're gonna need it." He then pointed at the plumbers. "You two, what weapons are you bringing?"

Mario and Luigi exchanged stunned faces. "…We dunna fight like-a dat," shook Mario's head. "We just use our feet, fists and Power-Ups."

"Power-Ups? Ha!" replied Mayor Goomba with a scoff. "No one's seen hide or hair of a single Power-Up since Mastermind rose to power. He's got hordes of minions harvesting them by the day."

"Nodda single mushroom or flower?" frowned Luigi.

"Hey guys," mocked a Koopa, "if you're gonna be pickin' flowers and mushrooms all day, then why even bother coming to the fight?" His fellow officers chuckled again.

Mayor Goomba had had enough; he was determined to set Mario and Luigi straight. "Listen you two Flower Children, we don't have time to rummage for anything around here. We need weapons! If you don't have 'em, then don't come!"

"But we promised da princess," frowned Mario.

Just then, an idea struck Starburn's brain. "Hold on, Mister Mayor," he said quickly, and pulled the Goomba Mayor away for a private conversation. The others anxiously watched from a distance as the two officials whispered, then smiled, then giggled softly. It seemed they had a scheme hatching.

Starburn turned back to the Mario Brothers with a fake smile. "We've decided for this mission to let you boys go into incognito."

"Come again?" replied the brothers in unison.

Starburn explained, "Here's the thing, guys. Maybe there are some Power-Ups left here, and maybe we just haven't looked for them in the right places. Now, Central City's got a huge sewer system, and I'm sure there's something down there we can use. And since you guys are so good at gathering items, well then it makes perfect sense to send you two down there."

"Wait, wait, wait," shook Mario's head in confusion. "Lemmie get dis straight: You want us to go clean out some pipes while you guys attack de airship?"

"You're plumbers, aren't you?" replied Mayor Goomba impatiently. "You might as well plumb something!"

"Look," replied Starburn with a much slyer response, "if anything were to happen to you guys out there, then there'd be no hope left for any of us. You're all we've got, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Right?"

While Mario began to feel suspicious, Luigi considered Starburn's plan. "…Okay. If we dunna find anything down in de pipes, den we come up and help you guys out, right?"

"That sounds like a fair deal. What do you say, Mario?"

"Hmmm… Well…" He watched Luigi's face carefully; if _he_ was convinced it was a good idea, then Mario would concede. Luigi gave him a confident nod. "…Okay. Give us two minutes down dere. We don't find-a nothing, den we comin' right up."

"Fair enough," said Starburn, thus he shook the plumber's hand. He then glanced back at Mayor Goomba, who gave him a toothy smile.

The plan was set; while the Mario Brothers were distracted elsewhere, they'd go on the frontal attack on Mastermind's airship. Then there would be absolutely no way they'd suffer the embarrassment of hiring plumbers to do a cop's job. It was foolproof.

**Central City**

The police force, along with its newest recruits, came riding into the city on Yoshi-shaped motorcycles. Like Cyber City, the former grasslands were replaced with streets and buildings. However, Central City was nowhere as grand as Cyber; however, it was bigger in mass and held the most important building of all: the royal family palace. But just as Mayor Goomba had told, an unfriendly airship was looming in the sky toward the palace, armed with twice as many weapons and creatures as the one that attacked Cyber a day ago.

Flying the airship was Mastermind's most trusted Shy Guy minion; a red-robed creature with a mask unlike any other. Instead of three basic holes where the eyes and mouth were, this one's facemask was war-painted and its holes were triangular, as if his expression was permanently that of an angered monster in mid-roar. He was the only creature onboard the airship that didn't wear a silver headband; that indicated that he was acting on his own free will, while the others onboard were mindless puppets controlled from the Mastermind's own home base.

The purple Shy Guy leader laughed maniacally as his ship floated over the palace. "Hahahahahaha! This is it, boys! Once we take this palace, we'll have full control of Sarasa Land's Seven Cities. Remember, take the king and queen alive; they'll soon serve our mighty Master! Mwahahahahaha!"

Meanwhile, Starburn and his men parked their Yoshi-cycles safely behind a neighboring building, possibly the center where the Seven City delicates gathered on occasion. The police chief armed himself with several weapons: first was his trusty laser rifle, the next was a silver arm bracelet with a miniature Piranha Plant attached to it, and the third was a large shield with a Power Star engraved on it. His men armed themselves in a similar fashion, but there were those with miniature Chain Chomps which would be used as grappling hooks later.

The decorated chief then turned his attention to the two humble plumbers, who were only armed with plungers and wrenches. Not that they cared; weaponry was never their forte.

Chief Starburn walked them over to a manhole in the street, and carefully opened it up with his bare hands.

"Okay guys," he muttered to them secretly, "this is where we leave you. You go do your thing now down there, and call us on the radio frequency if you need us."

"Dunna worry 'bout us," reassured Mario. "We've dun dis before."

"Yeah," nodded Luigi; "you can say we were born for dis job, ah?"

The chief seemed unamused. "Yeah, okay. Just be careful."

"Yeah-yeah," nodded Luigi again, as he made way for Mario to go downward first.

Mario did indeed descend down the manhole first, though there was a certain discomfort in his face. "It just don't seem right though… going _away_ from da battle." Luigi quickly followed after him.

Starburn closed the manhole after them, then turned to his heavily-armed troops. "Let's rock n' roll, boys."

"YEAH!" they cheered, raising their weapons.

**Central City Sewers**

The Mario's usually new where to look for the hidden Power-Ups in the corridors of the sewer way; however, just as Mayor Goomba had warned them, the search would prove to be almost completely fruitless. After spending half an hour walking aimlessly through tunnels while avoiding rivers of sewage, all the plumbers could find that seemed valuable were a few small mushrooms and wildflowers.

Mario stared at the small brown mushrooms in his gloved hands with a look of disappointment. "Dis don't even look edible," he frowned. "If I'm-a gonna find any mushrooms with no power to dem, de least I could do is make 'em a pizza topping, ah?"

Luigi scanned the walls with a small flashlight. "Dun' worry, Mario. Dere's always a 1-Up Mushroom around 'ere somewhere."

The boys paused for a moment to hear the sound of rumbling from the ceiling, which to them meant the battle was starting just over their heads. "Party's started wit'out us," frowned Luigi.

"Yeah," narrowed Mario's eyes. "Dat's de other thing. Why can' we help 'em out, uh? We got more experience in dese things!"

"Dey told us to stay down here," advised Luigi. "An' you know, it's like Papa always used to say: Mario's never quit their job."

"Yeah, I know, but… Wait." A puzzled red plumber turned to the green one behind him in amazement. "…What papa you talking about?"

"Our Papa," answered Luigi innocently. "Papa Mario. You remember him, don' you?"

"You mean our clone papas?"

"No, no! We only had _one_ Papa. And a Mama, named Pauline!"

"What you talkin' about?"

"What YOU talkin' about!?"

"Luigi, we never had a real papa. We're clones, remember? We were born in a lab! We were raised by our look-alikes!"

"But… But I…" Luigi stood there in deep puzzlement. "…I'm confused," he frowned sadly.

"So am I!" Mario scratched his head. "How do you know anythin' about our parents? I mean _their_ parents? We never saw dem before."

"But I saw dem… in my dreams."

There was a long awkward pause between them. Surely Luigi was losing his mind; he was confusing dreams with reality… or was he?

_Rrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuumble…_

"…Did you hear that?" muttered the alarmed Mario. Clearly, this noise wasn't coming from the outside world, but straight ahead.

Luigi shuddered. "Yah… but I wish I didn't."

Mario bravely followed the source of the sound, while Luigi followed with a gulp and shiver.

**Meanwhile…**

The airship launched Chain Chomps from its cannons, causing them to plow right into the palace windowsills. Twelve Hammer Bros used their upgraded hammers to slide down the chain and into the windows, from which they would attack the palace from the inside.

Not all of the Hammer Bros made it to the building; on the ground, a line of Tanooki twirled their miniature Chain Chomps like slings, and sent them flying. They managed to pick off four of the Hammer Bros, tieing them up and watching them drop to the ground like flies.

Once inside, the non-captured Hammer Bros faced off against palace guards, armed only with rifles and bayonets. They were unevenly matched, for the Hammer Bros had with them Whomp-shaped hammers, called "Whompers." These mallets had personality; the helmeted Koopas threw them in the air, and the Whompers actually directed themselves toward the guns, slammed them out of their owners' hands, then redirected themselves back to the Koopas like boomerangs. The Koopas then charged.

The Hammer Bros were sure they would have the king and queen in their grasp as they ran straight for the palace doors. They pushed the doors wide open, but they were shocked to see that not only were the royal couple present in the room, but so was an ambush of free-willed Koopas. Before the brainwashed Hammer Bros could react, the Koopas guarding the king and queen launched a large net at them, trapping half of them. Within moments, the throne room became a chaotic battle zone.

While outside, the airship launched a hailstorm of Bullet Bills from any which way, as if a full-on counterattack was expected. The police force on the ground could only raise their shields and wait for reinforcements. It came at last, in the form of a flock of Latikus. These airborn Koopas had ammunition on their own, and waited until their happy-faced clouds hovered directly over the airship. Then, they dropped their Bob-ombs on it.

"Booms" filled the air, as did chaos shortly afterwards. In mad panic, most of the airship's occupants dropped Chain Chomps onto the ground and slid down them to safety. That's precisely where Chief Starburn wanted them.

"Hit 'em with everything, boys!" he shouted. His troops charged with a roar, catching the brainwashed Koopas and Shy Guys off guard. Those armed with "Piranha Punchers" threw punches in the air, which triggered the mini Piranha Plants to spring forward and bite into their targets' faces.

"Aim for the headbands!" commanded the chief. "Don't forget, deep down they're still modest citizens!"

As he had ordered, the troops redirected their Piranha Punchers not to the faces of their enemies, but their foreheads instead. Within seconds, metallic headbands were severed into pieces, and what were once captive Koopas fell into shock and fainted. The fight was quickly siding with the good guys.

But then, the fearsome Shy Guy leader, who was watching from the now burning airship, gave out a blood-curdling growl. He was not going to lose this battle without first going down himself. He actually jumped ship without anything to soften his fall. But when he landed, he didn't crash or even injure himself! Starburn saw this from a distance; he knew right away that this was no ordinary Shy Guy.

The red-robed masked one slowly marched over to the police officers with a certain confidence in his gait. He walked right past unconscious Koopas and dazed Shy Guys. He never took his uncovered eyes off of Chief Starburn.

"You think you've won?" he hissed. "Well, don't go celebrating just yet. I'm not just a servant of Mastermind, you know- in fact… heh-heh-heh-heh… I'm not just a normal Shy Guy either!"

"What're you talking about?" frowned Starburn nervously.

The red one pulled out a small orb from behind his back. "Observe, human! This was all just a hologram from the start. I've saved my real form just for you!" He pushed a button from the orb, then dropped it.

Suddenly, the creature's very appearance fizzed out, as if it was a projection. The true creature, as it turned out, was more snake-like than human. It was scaled in red, legless, with tiny nubs for forelimbs, and three- yes, three- masked, hooded heads. Half of its face was still masked like a Shy Guy, but its mouths were clearly visible, with poisonous fangs. It still wore a robe, only this one was torn through and its hoods made the snake heads appear to be flapped like a cobra's. It was, in truth, a strange hybrid of a Shy Guy and a Tryclyde.

"Behold: **Tri-Guy**!"

"…Tri-Guy? Seriously?" Again, Starburn seemed unimpressed with his company. He aimed his laser rifle at the creature quickly, but in an instant, it disappeared. "What the!?" he exclaimed, not realizing that his competition was about to reappear right behind him.

"Chief, lookout!" screamed a Goomba officer, who saw the Tri-Guy reappear. Instinctively, the little Goomba leaped in the air and used his own body to block the Tri-Guy from sinking his teeth into the human's flesh. The bite was so powerful, that the little Goomba officer almost instantly faded away in death.

"Barry, NO!" gasped Starburn, who realized too little too late what had happened. Just as he wheeled himself around to face the three-headed snake again, it disappeared again. "Koop," he cussed; "how does he do that?"

Tri-Guy reappeared from a ledge on the palace, and spat fireballs from his mouths. This sent the police officers reeling in every direction, and then he disappeared again.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh… How can you fight something you can't see?" the invisible creature taunted. The confused Starburn could only growl in frustration.

**Meanwhile…**

_Rrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuumbllllllllllllllllllleeeeee…_

The low bellow was getting closer now; the sewage trickling along the pipeline was rippling. Mario opened his ears to the sound of wild splashing in the distance; they were getting close to the source.

"Come on, Weegie. Dis-a way."

"…I really don' feel like going dis-a way; I feel more like goin' data-way."

"Hey now, don't be a big bambino on me. It's time fer you ta grow a backbone for once."

"Hey, what you call cowardice, I call bein' smart! Now suppose whatever it is we're lookin' for is too big fer us? What den, uh?"

"Nothin's too big fer us! It's-a like you say, Mario's never give up."

"Dat's 'Mario's never qui-' …Wo-o-oah!"

The plumbers paused to see that their trail led to a waterfall, and they were now standing right on top of it. Amazed, they stared down at a massive open space with a lake-like bottom. It appeared to be a great hole chiseled by something other than man or machine. The brick walls around it were chapped, and pipelines from all sides were severed wide open. From down below, the lake water rippled into small waves.

"Holy Koop!" exclaimed Mario. "It almost looks like a bomb went off in here."

"Yeah," gulped Luigi as he looked down to the abyss below. "Gee, it's gonna take a lotta man hours t'fix dis leak."

Mario took the flashlight and scanned the four walls of the open area, in hopes of finding a secret hiding spot for a Power-Up. "Lessie… Dere's gotta be a Question Block around here somewhere… Or maybe it's down-"

**WHOOSH!**

Just as Mario turned the flashlight's beam down toward the murky water below, a humongous mouth full of jagged fangs flew out of the water and toward the unsuspecting plumbers. The boys screamed in horror as they were nearly caught in the fangs. With a great "CHOMP," the beastly mouth dropped like a rock into the deep lake below. The hapless brothers sat huddling together in utter shock as the beast made a great splash.

When the beast resurfaced, Mario looked down on it again. It turned out to be a Cheep- the biggest, most fearsome Cheep he had ever seen! Its teeth protruded out of its mouth like that of an angler fish. Without warning, the mouth opened up again, and this time something popped out of it: a Power Star!

"Look!" gasped Mario, as he desperately reached out for the glowing star item. But it was far out of reach, and the Angler Cheep recaptured it once it was in range. "Dat greedy mostoro," growled Mario. "He musta taken all da Power-Ups in dis sewer!"

Again, the Angler Cheep couldn't keep the Power Star inside its mouth; it spat it out again, and this time it landed at the edge of a pipeline on the opposite side of the cavern. It stood there twinkling, as if taunting those that wanted it most.

Mario looked around to find a way around the cavern, and noticed that some bricks in the walls were either sticking out or sunken inward. He wasn't known for his climbing skills, but as he cracked his knuckles and tightened on his cap, it was clear he was going to give it a try.

"Weegie, hold dat fish off while I go get da star." And with that, Mario took a daring leap forward.

"Yeah. Sure, Mario. You go get de star, I'll stay here n' get… ulp… eaten."

Mario was slick enough to avoid the Angler Cheep's leaps as he hopped, skipped and jumped from one smooth surface to another on his way to the Power Star. But the Angler Cheep was quick to learn that by slamming itself into the wall, it could cause a minor quake and catch his prey off guard. When it did thrust itself against the chiseled rocks, Mario wasn't just knocked off his guard, but his balance as well. He waved his arms in the air while keeping only one foot on a solid block.

The Angler Cheep opened its mouth wide at the red plumber, but was startled when it heard a voice coming from another direction: "Hey!! Fish-face!" It was Luigi; he took out one of his trusty wrenches from his overall pockets and flung it at the fish's head. It managed to bonk the creature right in the eye, and it reared back in pain before making a splash into the murky water below.

Mario was free to move again, and this time he had to climb the wall toward the Power Star. He came at last to a smooth and narrow opening in the wall, and with his back pressed up against it, he took one easy step after another toward the star.

All the while, the Angler Cheep was torn between which morsel to attack first. When it once again got too close to Mario, its head was speared by a plunger, which came from behind. Aggravated, the Angler Cheep was now completely focused on Luigi, who stood his ground at the pipeline waterfall. Luigi readied another wrench and held it up like a baseball bat as the Angler Cheep swam toward him.

Luigi's plan was to hit the fish as hard as he could once it jumped into the air, but his plan would soon backfire. The angler did indeed make a full leap above the water, but it saw the wrench coming. Like a flash of wind, the great orange beast chomped onto Luigi's wrench; not willing to let go, Luigi held on for dear life as the fish pulled him underwater.

Mario at last got hold of the elusive Power Star, but was careful not to activate it. After all, the police force would need it more than he would. But just when he was beginning to feel proud of himself, Mario's ears picked up an eerie scream from below.

"Mario!! …Mario, help!"

Mario glanced downward toward the lake, and saw that the giant orange fish was tossing Luigi and his wrench around like toys, splashing and thrashing wildly. Luigi was wise to not let go of the wrench that both he and the Angler Cheep were holding; had he let go, he certainly would have been fish food.

But while Luigi was screaming and gurgling, something deep within Mario's subconscious began to surface. He fell into a very deep state of thought, as his brother's screams were becoming more and more familiar. …They reminded him of a time when Luigi was just a child, drowning in a river, screaming those exact same words.

"_Help! Mario, help-a me!"_

It was just as Luigi had described his dream that early morning, and all at once it finally made sense to Mario. He finally knew what it all meant. Then, just as now, Luigi needed Mario's help. And like then, he was about to get it.

"Hang on, fratellino!" Mario grasped onto the Power Star tightly, activating it at last. He then began to glow in a halo of holy light, as if he was transformed into some kind of guardian angel. He then made a daring jump over the water, which caught the giant fish's attention.

The Angler Cheep spat out Luigi on cue, then made a flying leap into the air, opened its mouth as widely as it could, and ensnared Mario into a jail cell of jagged teeth. It then gracefully turned over and dove into the murky water like a dolphin.

While underwater, the fish was about to get the beating of its life. At his power level, Mario couldn't be bitten by the fish, nor could he drown. He willingly swam right down the beast's throat and into its stomach chamber. Just as he had suspected, there were hordes of Power-Ups inside; mushrooms, flowers, and even a rare Thunder token. Mario grabbed as many as he could before his power level dropped. With his last ounce of special power, Mario swam back out of the fish's body from where he swam in from. As he did, the fish almost instantly devolved from a gigantic monster to a humble little Cheep that was not the worse for wares. Puzzled and alarmed, it swam right into a pipeline under the deep, dark water.

Mario was quick to reach the surface, and when he did, his first concern was finding Luigi. He ended up spotting his dazed brother floating in the water on a broken pipe. "Weegie!" cried out Mario, as he swiftly paddled toward him.

"…Weegie, are you alright?"

Luigi weakly lifted up his wrench, which was now bent like a boomerang. "…Dis was my favorite wrench," was all he could say. Mario couldn't help but laugh, knowing Luigi was going to be alright.

It took the boys a few minutes to find their way out of the water and back on solid ground. Once there, they recollected their thoughts while wringing out their clothes. "You were right, Weegie," said Mario softly. "When I saw you inna water, I thought back to dat time you fell inna river. I remember it now!"

Luigi paused to catch his breath, then hung his head in shame. "…I didn' fall in, Mario. …I jumped."

"…You wha?" blinked the confused Mario.

"It's all comin' back t'me now," admitted Luigi with a sunken heart. He could recall that fateful day as if it had just happened…

"_Stoopid Mario," muttered six-year old Luigi, who had just been outcast by his peers from a game of baseball. He kicked a small pebble as he walked toward his house, not yet realizing that he had come across a riverbank._

"_I'm just as good as dey are… I just know I am…"_

"I just wanted to be better den you at something… Anything. It was all I could think about. And then…"

_Little Luigi stopped for a moment to think about how he could impress his belittling brother. He stared blankly at the flowing water nearby, looking as though the sunlight that reflected off it was hypnotizing. Then all at one, it came to him…_

"_I'm-a better den him at swimming!" he declared out loud. Yes, it was perfect! Mario would be walking this way soon, then he would catch Luigi doing laps in the water faster than he ever could. It was a perfect strategy._

"So, wit'out even giving it a second thought, I jumped in."

_With a small splash, Luigi found himself completely under freezing cold water. While submerged, the cold took over him, shocking his system. The water was far too strong for him to paddle through, which was something he didn't think to check. And what was worse was that he could see a dark drainpipe coming his way, ready to swallow him whole. He made a valiant effort to paddle to the surface, but when he did, only half of his face came through. It was just enough for him to scream._

"_Help… Help! Mario, help me!"_

_He went under again, but tried a second time to breathe. He did this three times, and already his body was losing feeling._

"_Mar-" he gurgled; he was close enough to the drain pipe that his sneakers were getting sucked in. Was it too late?_

"_Luigi!!" came a voice from the water's edge. A horrified young Mario stood helplessly as he saw his younger twin fighting for his life. Never before had he felt such an urge to act. "Hang on, fratellino!" He dove into the river like a pro._

_Despite his best efforts to impress Mario, Luigi ended up being rescued by him, which had proven his theory of being the better swimmer completely wrong. But as he felt himself being lifted out of the water, none of that seemed to matter anymore. All he could feel at that point was gratitude. And soon enough, he would also feel air in his lungs once again._

_Little Mario gave his twin a few strong pats on the back, and Luigi coughed and gurgled in reaction. He fell to the ground in a daze and shivering, but he was otherwise okay._

_Luigi's eyes slowly opened. "…M- …Mar-i-o?"_

"_It's okay, Weegie. It's okay…" At first, little Mario was relieved to have his brother back- even after all those times he made fun of him for being weak. Then he picked up Luigi by his shoulders and gently shook him angrily. "Dun EVER do dat again, you hear me??"_

"_O-kay," replied the weaker sibling. Then Luigi received something he never would have expected from his bullying brother: a great big hug._

And a great big hug from Luigi was what Mario got in the present time, though he wasn't really in the mood to be mushy. "Ack! Git offa me, ya great bambino!" he huffed as he shoved Luigi off of him. "…I still dunna get why we would remember something like that. It never really happened to us. …Did it?"

"Maybe," Luigi replied while deep in thought; "when dey made us, we got a piece o' the other ones' memories by accident, uh?"

"Gosh… If dat's true- I mean, if we're really becoming more n' more like de first Mario Brothers, den what else could we remember?"

Luigi shook his head in response. At this point, there was just no telling how much further their mental development would go. But then something else crossed Mario's mind: "Wow, it sure got quiet up dere."

"Yeah!" Luigi gasped in realization. "Maybe dey need us now!"

The plumbers jumped to their feet and quickly raced for the nearest exit.

**Meanwhile…**

By now, the once proud airship had come to a fiery crash on the earth, allowing the Latiku troops to focus their attention on the latest battle below. Starburn was being taunted by a Tryclyde/Shy Guy hybrid that kept disappearing and reappearing. Even the Latikus were stumped.

Starburn waved his rifle in the air; "Why don't you show yourself, you miserable coward!?"

"Love to," grinned the three-headed snake behind him. Starburn was quick to duck as the three-headed reptile attempted to sink its fangs into him. Starburn was quick to dodge the attack by falling to the ground and rolling away.

It was at that moment that the chief of police finally caught a glimpse of the snake's trickery. As he laid on his back, he looked up toward the rooftop of the royal palace and saw two Shy Guys holding what appeared to be mirrors toward the sun. The sunlight was directed at where the Tri-Guy stood. It all became clear to Starburn: "He's using holograms to disappear… Larry! Harry!"

Two identical Goombas jumped to his side. "Sir!"

"The rooftop. Hurry!"

"Yes-sir!"

The Goombas then sank their teeth into their own blue blouses, then ripped them apart. Underneath each of them was a pair of angelic wings; they were Para-Goombas after all. They took off like dragonflies toward the rooftop, where the Shy Guys stood unawares. Without any weapons to use, the Shy Guys were easy targets for the airborne Goombas, and as they were kicked and bitten, they dropped their machine which manipulated the sunlight. As the machine shattered on the ground, so did the Tri-Guy's illusion.

"I see you," narrowed Starburn's eyes at his target. He opened fire on the snake.

"AUGH!!" screamed the Tri-Guy in pain as he took the hits right to the chest. In anguish, he glared at the cop. "I'll take you with me, you overgrown human!" With that, he spat out three sets of fireballs. But they were instantly countered by Whompers, flung by Koopas who charged out of the palace. It turned out that the brainwashed Hammer Bros were defeated early on in the fight, and their weapons were now in the hands of the Koopa Force.

Tri-Guy fell to the earth in painful defeat. His body started to deteriorate into dust, which was the normal way for any creature to die. "Ugh," he moaned. "…Enjoy this moment… while it lasts… You haven't seen the last… of… Master…" _Poof._

Starburn was helped to his feet by Koopas that weren't dressed like cops. As he paused to catch his breath, Starburn took a moment to realize that he had outside help from Koopas he never even called upon. "…Who are you guys?" he asked them. "Where did you come from?"

"Prince Bruno sent us," replied one of the Koopas. "He figured you'd need some help."

"Why didn't he-"

"Call you? Well, he figured his uncle would have found out and stopped us before we got here."

"…Thank you. From all of us."

The Koopas could only smile.

One of Starburn's own Koopa officers approached, while glancing to the spot Tri-Guy fell. "What was that thing, Chief?"

"I don't know," panted the chief, wiping sweat from his brow. "Some kind of mutant hybrid, I think. There's no tellin' what Mastermind's up to nowadays…"

Within the hour, the damage left by the airship was undergoing heavy clean-up, thanks in large part to the city's freed citizens. Those who were once brainwashed were now waking up as if from a long dream. The surviving police officers were already cheering in celebration, when the Mario Brothers finally arrived.

Mario and Luigi carefully observed the putting out of fires, the recovery of Koopas, and the disposal of what was left of the airship into a large garbage truck. The first to see them coming were a few of the Goomba officers. "Hey, there they are!" cheered Larry, as he and Harry fluttered over to the plumbers.

"Nice to see you guys finally showed up. Better late than never," smiled Harry sarcastically.

"We're late?" blinked Mario in amazement. "But… But we just… Uh…"

"Relax guys, we covered it," winked Larry. "It's not like we really needed you anyways. I mean, we've been doing this job now for some years, and we never even needed Power-Ups!"

As the Goombas laughed victoriously, Mario glanced over to his equally bewildered twin. "Duped ora?" he whispered.

"Speakin' ze German?" asked a puzzled Harry.

"Guys!" cheered Chief Starburn, who was battle-worn and sweaty but otherwise the same old decorated officer. He seemed to be just as happy to see Mario and Luigi as the Goombas were, except they were just as happy to see him too.

"De airship. De bad guys…"

"De Power-Ups?"

"Gone, done, and no longer necessary. Well done, troops!" Starburn pulled one plumber under each of his arms with newfound enthusiasm. "Today is a new day for all of us, boys. If we can lick Mastermind's baddies, then we can do it again! Oh, and Mario Bros, hold onto those Power-Ups; you'll never know when we'll need 'em. Besides, this is just the first wave! Pretty soon you'll be scavenging for items all over this beautiful countryside. It's gonna be great!"

…Wait. _Scavenging?_ Was that the job Mario and Luigi signed up for? They glanced at each other with the same narrowed, disapproving eyes. Were they destined to miss out on all of the battles?

"Let's hear it for our brave soldiers, and lucky treasure-hunters!"

"Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!!"

The two plumbers were now seriously reconsidering their day job.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Italian Translations:**

Buon pomeriggio: Good afternoon

Duped ora?: Were we duped just now?


	4. Roses Are Red, Weegies Are Blue

The future has no certainty

**Chapter 4: "Roses Are Red, Weegies Are Blue"**

The Mastermind was always watching. Whether you were in Mushroom Castle, or Sarasa Land, or in the deepest darkest places of the world; even if you were in the deepest, bluest sea, The Mastermind was always watching.

Hundreds of television and computer screens filled the front wall of his throne room, where he and a few of his loyal minions would sit and watch every last image his Spy Guys sent back from their video cameras. He watched in silence as his latest creation- Tri-Guy- fell to his death at the hands of a pesky human police officer. His small crooked robot hand tapped the arm of his throne anxiously.

The purple Shy Guy gulped in fear as he realized the battle was lost- it was their first loss ever. He trembled as he slowly turned around to see if his Master was making the slightest bit of emotion. He wasn't, and that puzzled the masked little creature.

"M-m-m-Mastermind? …Are you alright?"

Mastermind hid in the darkness as usual, not letting anyone know what he was thinking or feeling. Monotonously he replied with, "Hmmm… It would seem my Tri-Guy experiment was a failure. No matter; I can make millions more in his place."

"Oh… eh-heh-heh. I thought you'd be upset."

"IDIOT!" roared the cyborg, with one of many of his extra arms lashing out at the terrified Shy Guy. "OF COURSE I'M UPSET!" The Shy Guy screamed and hid behind a television screen on the floor, while Mastermind's temper quickly cooled down. "Those Koopa Troopas must have been sent by Bruno- they were the ones who turned the tide… Clearly, I have underestimated my little nephew. I would have gladly spared his life, but if we wants a war, he's got one."

Hiding behind the steel face-mask shaped like King Bowser was a pair of pitch-black eyes with burning red irises, surrounded by pale human flesh.

**Sarasa Land**

From one city to the next, Starburn's troops marched on toting laser guns, Piranha Punchers, Whompers and Sling Chomps. Always behind them were the Mario Brothers, armed only with plungers, wrenches, and big brown sacks to use to carry any Power Items they could find.

Their tactics were almost exact as the ones in Central City. The Mario's were escorted to a sewer, or an abandoned apartment, or an uncharted marsh where mushrooms sprouted tall like trees. Wherever they went, the real battle was in the opposite direction. While Mario and Luigi unclogged, uncovered, or pulled from the mouth of some great beast the elusive Power Items, Starburn's increasing army of Goombas and Koopas gave Mastermind's goons one for. And of course, they couldn't have done it without the Power Items that Mario and Luigi risked life, limb and dignity to get. But were they rewarded for their efforts? Not once. All anyone gave them was a big pat on the back and a side tutorial in the local newspaper. And the more it happened, the more irritated Mario in particular was getting.

For what it was worth, Mastermind was losing a lot of minions due to these sudden attacks. At the end of each battle, those who were under his mind control were not only reunited with their true friends and family, but a great number of them joined the ranks of the police force. Within four days, the Seven Cities were looking brighter and more hopeful than ever, with many of its kidnapped returned and willing to fight on the side of good.

On the evening of the fifth day, the Mario's and police officers were all invited to Sarasa Castle to celebrate their victory over Mastermind's minions. Even though he was a guest, Luigi insisted on making pasta that night. He stood in the kitchen stirring up his one-of-a-kind sauce while the rest of the company gathered into the kitchen.

While Mario sat quietly on the far end of the dining table, five feet away were the queen and king of Sarasa Land laughing it up, while eating garlic bread and drinking down red wine. "So I says to them," giggled Starburn about one of his latest adventures, "'Gimmie your best shot,' and 'Wham!' I let 'em have it!" "Ha-ha-ha," replied the chubby and jovial King of Sarasa Land; "Most excellent, Chief. I say, you and your men have made quite a name for yourselves around here."

"Well," smiled Starburn humbly, "we really didn't do it all alone." In reality, he was referring to the Marios' help, but Mayor Goomba of Cyber Town (who was accompanied by six other city mayors) spoke up. "Oh, of course not! We actually had a lot of help from 'ol Mastermind too! See, if it wasn't for him lettin' loose some of his own baddies, we wouldn't have gotten more recruits!" The lot of them laughed on, while Mario, tapping his finger on the table, was waiting ever so patiently for his compliments. His patience was growing thin by the second.

Finally the police chief responded, "Actually, sir, I was referring to the Mario Brothers."

"Puh. The two plumbers?" scoffed Mayor Goomba. "What have they done besides clean a few pipes? Though seriously, those sewers really were backed up."

"They've been digging up all those rare Power-Ups we've been using," explained Starburn in a far more serious tone.

The Mayor was still unimpressed. "Right, like none of our guys could've gotten them?"

"We had no idea where to look for them, sir."

"Of course you wouldn't, Chief; you were up to your neck in baddies. But no matter; once we promote you to Sergeant… or one of those big titles… I'll make sure those plumbers get promoted too."

"You mean that, sir?"

"Of course, lad! …Heh-heh-heh. A good police force needs an equally good clean-up crew, right? Ha-ha! I'll bet those boys can work a good mop n' broom as well as they could a plunger. Hahahahahaha!" The other officials joined in Mayor Goomba's silly laughter.

And that was it, the straw that broke Mario's back. _"SLAM!" _went his palm onto the table, which grabbed everyone's attention. In a loud and harsh voice he yelled, "Dat's it! I QUIT!" His audience gasped; "What?"

"_Ptoo!_ …What!?" spat Luigi, just as he was taste-testing the sauce in the kitchen. There was a square hole in the wall between the rooms, so he heard Mario's roar loud and clearly.

"You heard me," growled the red plumber at the dinner table, while crossing his arms and standing on his chair to make himself look taller. "All dis scavenger hunting an' low profile stuff is makin'-a me sick. _Ho avuto abbastanza_!"

Mayor Goomba of Cyber City jumped onto the table and sighed in frustration, "Could you PLEASE speak in plain Goomba!?"

"I said, 'I had enough!'" explained Mario. From where he stood, he could catch a glimpse of Luigi peering curiously through the hole in the wall. "Weegie an' I are done pickin' up things fer you, an' then you laughin' about us when we not lookin'! You think we're a joke, huh? You think we stayed down in dat basement all dis time just to be pointed at an' called names, just 'cause we plumbers? Well, I got anotha idea: Lessie you guys fight Mastermind without our help!"

"Fine!" shouted back Mayor Goomba. "Go ahead and leave; it's not like we need you anyway. And besides, what'll you do now that you're civilians? Clean toilets for the rest of your lives?" His company softly giggled in reply.

Mario narrowed his big blue eyes at them. "Well, at least we'll-a have ah dignity. Come on, Luigi, we leaving!"

"Okay," replied the timid voice from the kitchen. "I just gotta stir da sauce up five more-"

"NOW!"

"Okay! Okay, I'm-a coming!"

The local officials mumbled to themselves as the two plumbers marched out of the room, and ultimately out of the castle. And while the citizens of Sarasa Land laughed on about them, the Mario's were in a far more somber mood as they left. For the first time in history, The Mario Brothers had quit their job.

**Beanbean Castle**

…But no sooner than they had quit one job, the Mario's were hired for another. Having been taught the ways of the plumber by their predecessors, Mario and Luigi took it upon themselves to fix a pipe problem in the long-distant Beanbean Castle. The royal family was complaining about their running water turning into mud, but had no idea where the source of the problem was. Mario and Luigi found it just outside the castle; they each took a shovel and dug a hole in the rose garden, and just like that they found a rusty old pipe that was riddled with tiny holes.

"Ho boy," mused Mario. "Dis pipe's probably as old as we are! Gotta get it outta dere before it splits open." The two plumbers quickly switched from shovels to wrenches and went to unscrewing the old pipe faster than anyone had expected. A crowd was being drawn from the windows of the castle; beans and humans alike gazed in awe at these alleged legends at work.

Ignoring the audience, Luigi mused out loud, "Y'know, Mario, I think you were right. We can do a whole lot better work if we just go solo. I mean we're basically doin' what we did before, only dis time we getting' paid for it! …Hey, maybe we can start up the ol' plumbing business again!"

"Yeah," agreed Mario as he dragged a newer, cleaner pipe section toward the hole in the ground. "We gotta get out own place first though."

"Well if we make enough money outta dis, den that should be easy."

"You wanna help me with this, bro?"

"Oh, sure." As they gently placed the new pipe fitting where the old one was, Luigi picked up the conversation again. "Gee, it'll be nice to be like our old selves again, right Mario? It should just be like old times: fixin' pipes, racin' go-karts, playin' sports, n' savin' da world."

Mario took a blue handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his sweaty brow with it. "Eh… I dunno about savin' da world again. Starburn seems t'got that covered already…" As Mario's thoughts began to trail, he slowly turned his head upward and saw a beautiful young woman standing on a balcony high in a tower of the castle. "…Hey, Weegie. Look, up dere!"

Luigi curiously followed his twin's directions and looked up. Sure enough, he saw the same young woman, only he knew exactly who it was: Princess Dahlia. The same young woman he met at the Mario's coming out party in Mushroom Castle. Like then, she was wearing a soft blue dress with small hints of white and lavender. But her face and hair seemed to have been borrowed from an all-together different woman. In Luigi's eyes, she mirrored her great-grandmother, Queen Daisy of Sarasa Land.

The more he stared at her, the more drawn to her his eyes became. Suddenly, a haze came over his sight, and her dress transformed from soft blue to bright yellow and orange. The wind brushed her short light brown hair, which only made her more attractive in Luigi's eyes. As soon as she tilted her head towards him, her eyes sparkling like gemstones, he couldn't help but wave to her.

In Dahlia's eyes, all she saw was a strange man dressed in green and denim, half-covered in dirt from unearthing a rusty old pipe. Then she recognized him as the creepy pervert from the party, who grabbed her arm and tried to pull her closer to him. And now here he was, waving to her! What audacity!

"Eww." Feeling completely uncomfortable in his presence, Princess Dahlia turned around and walked straight back into her room, without even looking back.

When he saw her leave, Luigi stopped waving and hung his head in shame. Reality hit him like a ton of bricks, and it hurt. …Mario could see that his twin was hurting, and couldn't help but intervene.

With a cracked smile, Mario implied slyly, "You-a smittin' wit her?"

"…What? NO! No-no-no-no-no-no-no! Uh-uh. Not me." Luigi ignored everything else and tried to concentrate on the fitted pipe, but that work had already been done.

"You know," Mario said as he rubbed his chin, "she kinda look-a like Princess Daisy."

"It's not Daisy; it's her great-gran'daughta Dahlia," frowned Luigi as he picked up his shovel and began to quickly bury the pipe.

"Yeah, yeah I know. …But I noticed the way you were lookin' at her, and I think-"

"Don't think, Mario. Thinking's-a dangerous."

"Well I think… dat you gotta thing fer Dahlia the same way the Luigi 1 had a thing fer Daisy." **Plop!** Well, he really should have seen it coming, but Mario was met with shoveled dirt in his face by a very defensive Luigi.

Luigi then aimed his shovel at Mario's face like a spear as he growled, "You just stop talkin' about it, an' I won't hit you wit' another one, okay?"

Mario could only laugh as he wiped the soil off his face. "…Boy oh boy, you're becomin' more n' more like your clone-papa ev'ry day. You know dat?"

While still holding the shovel defensively, Luigi pondered, "Is dat a bad thing?"

"No, not at all," shook Mario's head. "But he had a problem wit girls too. He was afraid of 'em, and I'm-a thinkin' you are too."

"I'm not afraid o' girls," denied Luigi.

"Den why don't you go up dere and talk t'her?"

"Because… because I already made a fool o' myself at dat dance party. She don't like me at all, Mario." Feeling defeated, Luigi lowered his shovel at last.

Mario approached him. "Listen, fratellino, you know what happened wit Luigi 1, uh? 'Course you know; we were dere! We both knew he was in love wit Daisy, but he never had da guts t'tell 'er so. And den what happens next? She gets engaged to Prince Peasley. An' I guess their marriage worked out, I mean dey got a fam'ly n' all… But dat's not de point. De point is, you got yer own chance now t'be wit somebody you like-"

"I don't like her."

"Yes you do, I can tell. And you gotta go for it dis time, or else you're gonna repeat de same mistake your other you made."

"It was a mistake t'let Daisy and Peasely live happily ever after?"

"No, de mistake was you givin' up on yerself… No wait, it was Luigi 1's mistake to give up on _him_self. If you don't give dis a chance, it may never happen again, an' you're just gonna be-a kickin' yerself into history all over again."

Luigi took a minute to think about his twin's wise advice. He clearly remembered a late summer afternoon when he was with his older counterpart, whom he called "Luigi 1." At that time, he- the clone- was only a toddler, and his green cap bore a "2" instead of an "L," which later in life would help further distinguish the two look-alikes.

_On that fateful late afternoon, when the summer sky faded into gold, the two of them sat atop a soft grassy hill. In the distance, a ceremony was taking place in the garden of Beanbean Castle. It was a ceremony that commemorated the engagement of Princess Daisy and Prince Peasley. The two Luigi's watched, both equally heartbroken, as Luigi 1's one and only love danced a waltz with her fiancé. One by one, the Luigi's sighed in sorrow; it was the only protest they could make._

All at once it came back to him, the sympathy he felt for his "clone-papa." Only now, he felt worse; the heartache was strong enough to be his own. He could now fully understand what the first Luigi went through when he chose not to intervene with Daisy's engagement. It was almost as if he, the clone, was becoming the true Luigi. Deep in thought, he vowed to himself to never make that same mistake again. He couldn't possibly bear that pain a second time.

"I say," came a diligent voice from behind, making Luigi's thoughts all but disappear. Here approached two Beanfolk, a green male and tan female, dressed in light blue suits. They were Sir Soy and Lady Cocoa, members of the Beanbean Imperial Court. "A job well done on the old bath pipe, Mario Sirs," smiled Sir Soy. "Capital!"

"Uh, grazie," nodded Mario. "We'll just-a take our pay n' go home now."

"Oh, do stay," smiled Lady Cocoa. "Surely you gentlemen would fancy a tour of the castle, wouldn't you?"

Luigi was about to shake his head in refusal, but Mario cut in and smiled, "Oh, you know wat? Maybe we can take a lil' tour… Just one."

"Splendid!" smiled the green-skinned chap. "I, Sir Soy, shall lead you through the main gates. Follow me!" He then made a quick march, while Lady Cocoa made sure she fell behind the Mario's.

**Dark Island**

Mastermind was still watching. This time, he had his cameras focus in on the many cities of Sarasa Land. He had very little power over there now, but he didn't seem to lose his confidence. The great big cyborg sat on his throne, fiddling his hook-like talons as he mused at the images on his television sets. "What fools these mortals be."

"Uh… Sir?" peeped the purple-robed Spy Guy nearby.

"They think me a fool. They couldn't possibly take out all of those airships of mine without outside help. They're hiding something, but they can't hide it forever."

"W-what could they be hiding, Sir?"

"Those Mario Brothers," replied the cyborg, as the red beacons he called eyes flashed through the eye holes of his iron Bowser mask. "Since that party back in Mushroom Castle, they've been hiding out of sight. I must find them, before they aid the police force any further."

"Sir," saluted the Spy Guy, "Allow me and my troops to sniff them out. We'll use the Feroshi's."

"Very well, go. …Oh, and one last thing before you leave."

"Yes, Sir?"

_Whack! _Spy Guy got hit right between the eyes with a random piece of metal, thrown by Mastermind. The evil one's eyes began to glow again; "That's for calling me Sir."

Spy Guy fell flat on his back, but then quickly reared himself up, rubbing his hooded head. "Oh, right. Sorry, Master, it won't happen again." Then the sniveling little creature hopped quickly out of the room.

Now that he was alone at last, Mastermind could turn his attention away from his television screens. "It's time to work on my next projects."

His Centaur-shaped body slowly rose to its four feet, while he pressed a button on his arm chair. The television screens peeled away to reveal a large table, with chains of various robotic tools and pieces hovering over it from the ceiling. This was Mastermind's personal workplace, as well as his throne room. He slithered over to the table and sat down comfortably; he would be there for some time.

The spikes on his fake turtle shell extended and morphed into dozens of tiny hands. Each one grabbed a hunk of metal or a tool from either the ceiling or another spot in the room. With the precision of a master builder and the speed of a spider, he and his robotic appendages quickly turned steel clutter into a full-fledged Robo-Koopa. Only this time, he added jet-like wings to it, where a Para-Troopa's angelic wings would be. He would then take it with one spike-arm and place it onto a moving conveyor belt, while he went straight to work on a new robot. He was his own personal robotics factory.

**Beanbean Castle**

During what felt to them like a long hour, the Mario's were dragged down the great hall of Beanbean Castle, with Sir Soy and Lady Cocoa ever the enthusiastic tour guides.

"And these paintings here were donated from Mushroom Castle during the 1900's, before the great Koopa Wars. Here we have our great King Bean XVII, accepting his seventh fencing trophy. He was rather fond of fencing, you know…"

"And these chandeliers date all the way back to 1816, during the reign of Queen Bean."

"Which one was that?" asked a bored Luigi. Mario elbowed him, hoping his twin wasn't being too sarcastic.

"Queen Bean II, of course," smiled Lady Cocoa.

"Okay, we really need to take a break," frowned Luigi as his weakening ankles forced him to stop.

"Oh," replied Sir Soy, "we're just about to approach the Library. We have plenty of seats in there."

"Sure," nodded Mario, who had to practically drag his brother by the suspenders for the rest of the walk.

Once inside the grand library, the boys felt much more in awe at their surroundings. There was so much more to this area than just stacks of books; there were statues, potted plants, and flying buttresses. Indeed, they were impressed.

"Now, shall we break for maybe five minutes?" suggested the green-skinned bean-man.

"No problemo," smiled Mario as he slouched in a comfortably cushioned chair.

"Right. I'll you two chaps in a bit. Come, Cocoa." With that, the sir and lady left the tired plumbers alone. Little did they know what trouble the plumbers could get themselves into in just five minutes…

Mario grabbed the nearest book, which was actually quite large and thick, and plopped it onto the small round table in front of him. "…What're you doing?" asked Luigi nearby. As he fluttered through the pages, Mario answered, "I'm-a lookin' through da history book. I wanna find out wat happened while we was asleep."

"…But we know wat happened," argued Luigi weakly. "Our papas died, Mastermind took over… Dat's it."

"But wat about our kids? Our gran'kids?"

"I don't have any," Luigi said sorrowfully, glancing toward the tiled floor.

"I just wanna know more, das'al… Hey look 'ere, Luigi. It says here ol' Bowser Junior ended da Koopa Wars."

"Really?" Luigi perked up all of a sudden. "Where's it say dat??"

"Right here," pointed Mario at the page of the thick book he was on. He began to read aloud to himself and his brother: "On the eve of da new millennium, King Bowser de Elder handed his authority over da Koopas to his son, Bowser da Younger. Known den as Bowser Junior, de new Koopa King quickly married and set about making a new place for his Koopas, who were all-a scattered aroun' Mushroom Kingdom. Da Koopa King's ultimate plan was to make a new Koopa Kingdom, which was something his father always tried to create but repeatedly failed at…"

As Mario read on, Luigi began to settle into his chair, which was right next to a large potted plant. He stretched out his arms, not noticing how close they were to the plant itself.

Mario read on: "Bowser de Younger chose none other den Dinosaur Island for his settlement, because of the close relationship da Koopa and Yoshi species have. To everyone's surprise, de Yoshi's accepted a peace treaty with da Koopas in a matter of weeks, and thus Dinosaur Kingdom became home to- LOOKOUT!"

"Huh?" Inevitably, Luigi's hand tapped the flowerpot completely off his hinges. "Yah!!" Alarmed, the green plumber jumped to his feet and scrambled his arms to catch the pot before it fell hard onto the floor. With sharp agility, he managed to save the plant- and the floor- from certain disaster. "…Whew!" sighed Luigi in relief. Then he couldn't help but laugh at himself; "For a moment dere, I thought I was gonna do something' stupid!" That's when he decided to lean up against a book shelf… which was not bolted to the floor.

It would soon become clear to the plumbers that_ none_ of the bookshelves were bolted to the floor; a costly mistake on the beanfolks' part. The first shelf toppled over, crashing into the one behind it, and so forth and so on. The bewildered Mario's could only watch in plain shock, eyes bulged and jaws dropped, as one tall figure after another- shelf, pot, table and statue- all came crashing to the ground, one after the next, like a set of oversized dominoes. _Crash! Shatter! Boom! Break! Crack! Smash! Shudder! Flop! Bang! Thwack! Boom!_ In the end, as the disaster turned full circle over to the Marios' side of the room, all that remained standing was the same potted plant that Luigi saved earlier. As if wanting to gain the full effect, Mario nonchalantly pushed it over, putting it out of its misery. If only he could do the same for his brother, who was completely beside himself in shame.

Their fate surely looked sealed when the Library doors flew open…

**Sarasa Land**

They called it _"Feroshi."_ The name was taken from the word "ferocious" and blended with the name "Yoshi." For that's what they were: devolved, or perhaps mutated Yoshi's. No longer were they cute and innocent in appearance; these were savage Deinonychus with razor-sharp fangs and talons, and red tiger stripes streaming down their sides, which matched their hair-thin frills. They still had red sneakers, of course, but they were torn through by the talons. Their appearance was, no doubt, the handiwork of Mastermind. And they were the choice pets/steeds of his brainwashed henchmen.

A pack of twenty Shy Guys riding Feroshi's set off toward Sarasa Land, where they believe the Mario's were hiding. They struck every civilian building they could- the dinosaur beasts would literally jump into the house without warning. After interrogating many a frightened civilian, the Shy Guys eventually found out where the plumbers really were…

**Beanbean Castle**

Princess Dahlia was the last to know that the heroes of legend were in her castle. As soon as the word went out, she put on her best heels and went on a wild hunt, searching every last room for them. She just had to see them in person!

Meanwhile, the pitiful plumbers had already been detained and locked in a basement, presumably a dungeon, where they were forced to wait in silence for whatever punishment they'd receive for destroying the library. After ten minutes of sitting up against a wall, Luigi couldn't take the suspense anymore.

"…Just… Just kill me, bro. Kill me now… Snap my neck. Go on. Do it."

"Weegie…"

"I… I wanna die."

"Weegie, I'm-a not gonna kill you. Just relax."

"Just one lil' snap."

"Shuddup, Luigi!" barked Mario, who was also leaning against a wall of the cell. "Dey can't do nothin' to us. It was an accident, an' we're just gonna clean it up, no big deal."

"But why de dungeon then? Huh? Why'd dey put us in here if we're not gonna be put on a rack or something? Dey're gonna do it, I just know it! Aw, boy… I never even learned de piano."

"Oh, geeze."

"I never got to fly in a plane. I never told my clone-papa how much I loved him… I never even kissed anybody! ….Mario? …Would you kiss me?"

"I'll shove yer foot in de kisser if you don't shuddup!"

They were abruptly interrupted by the sound of keys cracking against each other. A guard had suddenly appeared, with a beautiful young woman standing behind him. The guard emotionlessly unlocked the cell door and said, "Gentlemen, consider yourselves extremely lucky. The princess here has paid your bail."

Luigi was ecstatic; "Oh! Thank the great mushrooms. I'd give _her_ a kiss if she was-a here!"

"Spare me, you big green pervert."

Luigi recognized that voice and shuddered. "…P-p-princess?"

No doubt about it, it was Dahlia standing behind the guard. And she was none too pleased to realize that the man in the green cap was a hero of legend. With arms crossed and furrows browed, the Daisy look-alike growled at him, "I can't believe it… I can't believe you of all people would be a Mario."

Mario jumped to his feet in Luigi's defense; "Yer highness, I can explain. It was all an accident! He never meant to-"

"Save it!" she said quickly. "…I don't really care about what happened in the library. My family's rich enough to make a bigger and better one anyway. But_ you_!" she pointed harshly at Luigi. "I can't forgive you for making such a scene at my best friend's grand ball last week! The nerve of you, grabbing me like that and calling me a daisy."

"He thought you _were_ Daisy," Mario explained nervously. "…As in yer great-gram-mama?"

Suddenly, the princess's face softened. Being far more willing to listen to the man in red, her attitude altogether changed. "…Oh. …I see. …Well then, this explains a few things. Oh, you two are free to come out now." "Grazie," muttered the humble plumbers, as they made a slow exit from their cell.

Dahlia looked Mario up and down thoroughly before saying, "I'd like a word with you, in private."

"Me?" he asked curiously. "…Wat about him?" he asked, pointing to Luigi.

Dahlia gave Luigi an unfriendly glance. "He can stay in the orchard outside. I need to talk with you, Mister Mario."

Without another word, the little red plumber followed the princess out of the basement one way, while a downtrodden Luigi was escorted out by the guard the other way.

Mario soon found himself back in the castle's grand hall, only this time he had much different company. Princess Dahlia, as it turned out, wasn't as harsh and cold as she appeared. She was very interested in learning more and more about the legendary Mario. It was only natural for her; it was the original Mario who once saved her great grandmother from certain danger.

"So, I've been told that you're actually a clone of the real Mario- I mean the _original_ Mario."

The little red plumber cracked a smile, while the princess looked nervous as though she feared to have offended him. "It's okay, you can call 'im 'da real one' if you want."

"No. But I mean… What I meant to say was-"

"Yes. I am his clone. And it's okay, I'm-a not offended."

Dahlia sighed in relief. "Oh, okay…" She recollected her thoughts as the plumber turned around to resume his walk down the hallway. "…So, I guess that makes you his son, right?"

Mario stopped in his tracks; now he really did give a look of shock. The red-headed princess paused as he turned to face her, and was surprised to see the big frown on his face.

"…No one ever called me dat," he frowned.

"But it's true, isn't it? I mean, if you were made from his blood, then…"

He quickly shook his head. "No. …No, I dunna think he woulda liked that. I mean calling me 'son.'"

Dahlia cocked her head in curiosity. "Why not?"

"Well… it's a long story…"

**Mushroom Castle**

There was a special place in the Mushroom Castle where only Princess Cherry would go, to pay her respects to relatives and heroes alike, all long past. There were golden shrines for everyone, from the very first ruler of the kingdom to the very latest to have passed on. There was one particularly special corner in this, the Hall of Legends.

Cherry silently and solemnly walked up to the plaques of the Mario's, the ones her great-grandmother knew so well. Two golden statues of the famous plumbers stood side by side, but near them was one other plaque- a much smaller one, with no statue tribute at all. She approached it with a frown on her gentle face.

"_De truth is, princess, Mario really did have a son. Dey named him Nico- it means 'Victory of da people,' or something like that. It suited him, I think. Anyway, he was Mario's one an' only son, but when lil' Nico was just a bambino, he somehow disappeared. I never really got de full story of it, 'cause ev'rybody was too sad t'tell it. All I know is, he disappeared an' no one ever saw him again."_

"_How awful," replied Dahlia._

"_It was… Mario looked all over fer him; all da forests, all da caves, mountains, oceans, islands, all de way t'Bowser's castle. The only thing Mario ever found was his lil' carriage… smashed to pieces."_

Cherry sighed softly, as her gloved hand caressed the small plaque beside the Mario tribute. All it said was this: **"Nico Mario- Lost Forever"**

This would not be the first time the young princess would visit this shrine, nor would it be the last. Like her relatives before her, she felt a strange kinship for the one great-great uncle she would never know. But of course, her line wouldn't end there; Mario not only had a son, but also a daughter, and she would become known as Princess Plum.

_Mario went on with his story regardless of his own sorrow; "By de time I was made, Nico had already been long gone. Dey gave 'im a grave n' ev'rything… As fer me, I remember Mario 1 lookin' at me kinda funny, like he wasn't even sure how to react to me. I did ask him once about how we were related. It was de only time I asked him…"_

**Beanbean Castle**

Mario sat Dahlia down at the top of a curving staircase that would have led to the dining hall. There, he gloomily recounted a part of his past that he had been concealing for far too long.

"What did he say?" Dahlia bravely asked.

Mario hung his head. "…He said it plain and simple: 'You-a not my son.'"

There was a moment of silence between them, until Dahlia felt the courage and compassion to rest her arm around Mario's shoulders. "I'm really sorry," she said with a tear in her eye. "Me too," he sighed softly.

He had a strong urge to get off the subject and forced a smile. "Hey, why don't we go see wat Luigi is up to, ah?"

"…Wait, you mean the green guy? Is he really related to you?"

"Of course! He may not be my real twin, but he's-a family. Come on, I want you ta get t'know 'im."

"But he's so… I mean… he's…" One look into Mario's pleading eyes was all it took for Dahlia to warm up. "…Oh, okay. Let's go."

In the orchard, Luigi sat and waited patiently by a fountain with a likeness of a Beanish person atop it. He was idly picking at a flower when Mario and Dahlia appeared. The princess eyed him from a safe distance while the little red plumber ran up to him with an excited smile.

"Weegie, guess wat! I got an idea. Dis is your chance t'impress da princess!"

"How?" gulped Luigi.

"I thought about it, an' it dawned on me! Just say ev'rything you always wanted t'say ta Daisy, only do it dis-a way…" The rest of his plan was kept so secret, he felt the need to whisper it in Luigi's ear.

Luigi hesitantly moved back. "But Mario, wat if it doesn't work? I mean… wat if…"

"Lissen ta me, ya great big bambino!" Mario urged him. "You only got one chance in life ta do something great, an' den it's-a gone forever. Luigi 1 had his chance, an' he blew it. I'm-a not gonna let da same thing happenna you! Now wassit it gonna be, fratellino: love, or lonliness?" It actually took a lot quicker for Luigi to reply than Mario had expected.

Before she knew it, both Mario Brothers were approaching her, one walking more confidently than the other. Mario tipped his hat to Dahlia and smiled, "Princess Dahlia, my brother, he would-a like to tell you ev'rything about himself, so you can getta know 'im better."

"Okay," nodded the princess.

"Dere's just-a one thing though," added the red plumber; "he's-a much more comfortable speaking l'Italian than English. So, he's gonna talk one way, an' I'm-a gonna translate in de other. Okay?"

Confused, Dahlia batted her eyes. "Uh… okay."

This was it; the next few sentences to come out of Luigi's mouth were straight from the heart- both his and his predecessor's. Only Mario wasn't really going to translate; his job was to cover up Luigi's shy words with those the princess would understand more. Luigi stepped forward, cleared his throat, took a long deep breath and spoke his peace:

"Ci siamo incontrati soltanto recentemente, ma già li gradico."

_Real translation: "We've only just met, but I already like you."_

Mario's translation: "He say he like to take long walks on da beach."

Already, the princess smiled in admiration, but Luigi had only begun…

"Avete tali bei occhi."

_Real translation: "You have such beautiful eyes."_

Mario's translation: "He's gotta big mansion back home."

"Oh," nodded Dahlia.

Said the green plumber, "Sentite l'odore di come I fiori."

_Real translation: "You smell like flowers."_

Mario's translation: "He's-a really good at sports… Not as good as me of course, but still a-pretty good." Luigi shot him an ugly look. "Okay, moving on!" grinned Mario nervously.

"Il vostro nome non li fa la giustizia…"

_Real translation: "You're name does not do you justice…"_

Mario's translation: "He like pancakes."

"…per voi essere più bella di intero giardino della molla." And with that, he kissed the air.

_Real translation: "…for you are more beautiful than a whole spring garden."_

Mario's translation: "…He really, _really_ like pancakes!"

Dahlia clasped her hands, enthralled by the green plumber's strange language. "This is all so beautiful! Please do more."

Luigi gave a deep sigh. "Desidero che sia stato più dell'uomo meritate, anziché il vigliacco sono."

_Translation: "I wish I was more of the man you deserve, instead of the coward I am."_

Moved by his brother's words, Mario clutched onto his own heart. "…What did he say?" asked Dahlia. Not able to take it any more, Mario said it plain and simple: "He say he likes you!"

Dahlia blinked in surprise. "What?"

"WHAT?" blasted the outraged Luigi at Mario. "What?" shrugged the red plumber.

Luigi was so mortified, that he forgot to switch off his Italian and growled, "AUGH! Perché siete andato dire quello??"

_Translation: "AUGH! Why did you go and say that??"_

Mario replied defensively, "Sono spiacente! Stavo provando appena ad aiutare."

_Translation: "I'm sorry! I was just trying to help."_

"Avete aiutato abbastanza a lungo!" hissed Luigi, waving a disapproving finger at Mario.

_Translation: "You've helped long enough!"_

"Boys?"

"What!?" exclaimed the two gentleman at the princess, caught up in their rage. Dahlia could only smile in response; "…I don't know what you boys just said, but it all sounded lovely. You have a wonderful language… And Luigi?"

"Si- I mean yes?" he gulped.

"I was weirded out by you before, but now… I think you're very interesting."

"…Oooh…" The green plumber's face softly turned pink as his heart melted. Mario couldn't help but giggle beside him.

"Princess Dahlia? Princess!" called a butler in the distance. Dahlia sighed, "Excuse me for one moment," and reluctantly walked away. Meanwhile, Luigi was caught up in his infatuation, bobbing from side to side like a balloon. He then leaned over to Mario and muttered, "I'm interesting." "I heard," grinned his shorter brother.

Then they heard her majesty scream something they never expected to hear: "Attack! We're under attack!!"

_Fzzzzzz…_ **BOOM!**

Just as the princess raised the alarm, a Bob-omb came flying from out of nowhere and came exploding onto the Beanish fountain. The Mario's were thrown to the floor by the force of the explosion, but were otherwise unharmed. Following the explosion came a mass of Feroshi-riding Shy Guys, leaping clear over the hedges of the orchard. Screams and mad panic followed immediately afterward.

"Shy Guys!" "Feroshi!" "Everyone to the castle!" "Arm yourselves, men!"

Panic-stricken, Luigi scrambled over to Mario, who was still lying flat on the ground. "Whadda we do, Mario? Whadda we do??" Ever the cool and collective one, Mario slowly looked around for resources, and his eyes soon fixed themselves upon his bad of plumber tools. "…Improvise," he grinned.

The Beanish guard came racing out from the castle doors armed with rifles and bayonets, but were outmatched by the Feroshi, whose frog-like tongues could stretch out further than any common Yoshi's could. One by one, the rifles were snatched and swallowed up by the wicked-looking dinosaurs. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Spy Guys riding them were armed with a countless supply of Bob-ombs, and hurled them at the castle and the armored guard like baseballs.

"Duck and cover, men!" shouted one of the guards. The Beanish guards could do nothing more than tumble into bushes and flowerbeds for protection. But they were about to get some help.

"Ready, bro?" "Go for it!"

Right on cue appeared the Mario Brothers. Luigi picked out a mallet from the toolbox, while Mario tucked himself in so tightly that he resembled a ball. Thus, they recreated the now-famous "Knockback Bros" move; Luigi knocked Mario with the mallet like a golf ball, sending him catapulting onto a line of Feroshi. His force was so great, that the whole line of dinosaurs went tumbling down like dominoes- not unlike the bookshelves of the now demolished library. And the plumbers had only just begun to fight!

The purple Shy Guy watched from a safe distance while riding the back of a green Feroshi. Pointing at the Mario's, he shouted out, "There they are, guys! Get those plumbers!!"

Spy Guys from everywhere took up a Bob-omb and chucked it toward the Mario's. "Quick! Hammer!" shouted Mario after just reformatting himself. Luigi threw a second mallet to him just in time, and together they batted back the Bob-ombs like tennis balls toward their enemies. One by one, Spy Guys exploded on impact.

Without a Spy Guy to control it, a blue Feroshi jumped right behind Luigi, causing him to pause from attacking anymore. The green plumber slowly turned around, his mustache all fluffed up from fear. The beast behind him roared, spitting saliva at him, before giving chase. As Luigi ran like the wind, Mario was left to fend off the Bob-bombs on his own. …But not for long. "Mario, catch!" cried out Luigi, tossing his own mallet into the air as he passed by his twin. Upon catching it, Mario spun himself around like a top, holding one mallet in each hand, and letting loose a tornado of ricocheted Bob-bombs at the remaining Shy Guys.

But the fight was far from over. "Look!" cried out Princess Dahlia, pointing to the sky. Overhead came a flock of unusual Robo-Koopas with jet-shaped wings on their shells. They were neither Robo-Koopa nor were they Paratroopas, but a whole new line of robots altogether: The Jetroopas. As they hovered the area from above, they swooped down like hawks and fired fireballs at whoever was in the line of fire. Beanish and humans alike jumped for safety, but not all of them would survive.

Princess Dahlia in particular tucked and rolled straight into a charcoaled Shy Guy, who was beaten but not killed by a Bob-bomb. Upon seeing her face to face, the masked little creature chuckled and whipped out a laser-lighted sword. She screamed, but only one would reply. That one, of course, was Luigi- at the time, he had somehow managed to jump from the ground straight onto the back of the very Feroshi that was chasing him. Now that Dahlia was in peril, he took the beasts' reins and kicked its sides; "Giddyup!" he yelled. The Feroshi, savage as it was, had no choice but to comply and charged toward the unsuspecting Shy Guy. In one fateful instant, Dahlia's would-be captor was swallowed whole.

Luigi then jumped off of the dinosaur and quickly helped the princess to her feet. She stood there in speechless awe as he dared to brush off some dust on her dress. "You okay?" he muttered shyly. Just as she nodded, he heard the cries of others in distress. "Scusi, princess," he tipped his hat to her, and literally jumped back into the fray. Dahlia could only watch; if she wasn't impressed with Luigi before, she certainly was now!

"They're-a comin' from all sides!" cried out Mario, who was now feeling overwhelmed by the swooping Jetroopas. Luigi landed safely beside him; "Mario! Need a hand?" Just then, an idea stuck Mario's brain; "…You remember da Spin Jump?" "Remember it?" grinned Luigi. "I invented it!" There was no time left to argue the truth; Mario had to jump on top of Luigi's head just as the Jetroopas were coming in fast. The green plumber then spun around as fast as he could, while stretching his arms out as far as possible. One second later, the two plumbers were airborne like a propeller and spun right into the Jetroopas with mallets at the ready. The robotic enemies ricocheted and fell into each other, some exploding on impact.

The Mario's had gotten themselves so wound up that they flew right onto a banister of the caste's second level. From there, they had a much clearer view of where the Jetroopas were coming from. They tried to count which ones were left, but there were far too many.

"Wat now?" gulped Luigi.

"Hmm…" Mario paused in deep thought. "…I think it's-a time for da Super Jump."

"Super Jump? But dat's… Dat's-a _my_ move."

"Exactly."

"…Oh. You're not saying…" Mario could only smile slyly and nod at his twin, indicating that he really meant what he was saying: it was Luigi's time to go solo. The green one took a deep breath in anxiety; "…Here goes nothing."

Luigi squashed his body down until he was almost flattened, and when he sprung up, he took off like a rocket into the air. None of the Jetroopas saw him coming because he was so fast, and he came on top of one of them like a falling comet. As the first one fell, he sprung right to the next one, slamming his foot down on its face. He then jumped right to the next one, and the next, starting to practically walk on air.

The stunned Jetroopas dropped like flies in the sky, but from the ground below, the purple Shy Guy was watching. He had only one Bob-omb left, and he had to make it count. He shoved it into the mouth of his green Feroshi, and instinctively it spat it out, aiming it straight into Luigi's direction. Its explosion cost the Shy Guy his Jetroopa ally, but it also knocked Luigi off kilter. He started to come crashing down from the sky like a bird with a shot wing.

"Luigi!!" screamed Mario, powerless to save him while stuck on the castle's second level. From the ground level, Dahlia watched in equal terror.

But the green plumber wasn't finished; instead he was nearly dazed and came to just as he was about to hit the ground. A strong instinct took over him, unlike any he had felt before. He threw out his hands and yelled, "THUNDER!" Magically, a flash of light and electricity came spewing from his hands, which came at such a force that it cushioned his landing. He still hit the ground hard, but at least he wasn't killed. His friends ran to him, while the disappointed Shy Guy looked on.

"How am I gonna explain this to the Master?" he muttered fearfully, before making a hasty retreat on his Feroshi. He would be the only minion of Mastermind's to escape certain doom.

In the meantime, the police force of Sarasa Land came roaring in on Yoshi-cycles, arriving fashionably late to the battle for the first time ever. They had been following the Shy Guy group since their homeland, but could never outrace the Feroshi. By the time they parked their bikes, Luigi was already getting the care he needed from the castle's own set of nurses. They had him laid out on a stretcher on the battlefield, but to everyone's surprise he wasn't seriously hurt.

Mario, on the other hand, was fit as a fiddle and ready to greet Starburn and his troops as they approached the scene. His men quickly took care of the remaining Jetroopas that were not yet destroyed, while assisting the Beanish nurses caring for the injured guards.

Starburn stood there in such awe that he actually took off his sunglasses and revealed his true eyes. "…Un… believable," he uttered.

"Believe it," replied Mario beside him.

The police chief looked down at the proud plumber in astonishment. "…You did this?"

"Me n' Luigi did it, yeah. …Dunna worry, we'll give you some o' da credit- we'll say you came in an' cleaned up after us."

The chief couldn't help but chuckle at the joke.

It took the crew the remainder of the day to clean up the mess left behind, but by then the news of the Mario's victory over Mastermind's minions spread like wildfire from one kingdom to the next. The brothers gladly made the front cover of every newspaper, and even Mayor Goomba of Cyber City sampled the news with newfound hope. It was inevitable for the police to honor the plumbers in celebration back at their station in Central City.

"You boys really are legends," smiled Chief Starburn after awarding Mario and an arm-slung Luigi with badges of honor. "No one's ever taken on Mastermind's forces single-handedly and lived to tell about it… I guess it's only right that we ask you to join our ranks. I'll even let you be my deputies if you'd like."

The plumbers exchanged half smiles; Mario replied, "Thanks, but-a no thanks."

The chief raised an eyebrow. "You'd rather be chiefs? …Sergeants?"

"Actually, we kinda like bein' who we are. In otha words, me n' Luigi are gonna go solo from here on in."

"But… what're you guys gonna do next?" questioned Starburn.

Mario replied confidently, "We're gonna go liberate da biggest land Mastermind's got. I mean, we might as well, right?"

Once again, their company had their extreme doubts, as Mario's remark was met by gasps and awes. Starburn shook his head at him disapprovingly, "That's impossible. Mastermind's lands are teeming with minions. You won't last a day there!" The little red plumber smiled on, "You never know unless you try."

As much as their friends wanted to protest, there wasn't stopping the Marios' decision. On that very next day, when Luigi was all healed and ready to go, the two plumbers marched toward Mushroom Castle, ready to say their goodbyes to Princess Cherry.

Along the way, Luigi's curiosity got the better of him: "Hey, Mario? What exactly _is_ da biggest piece o' land Mastermind's got, ah?"

With his eyes keen on the road ahead, Mario replied eagerly, "Dere's only one place I can think of dat's bigger n' any otha place we've been, bro, and dat's the Donkey Kong Islands."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	5. Plumbers In Arms

The future has no certainty

**Chapter 5: "Plumbers in Arms"**

"Open the gates! We have company!"

The Mushroom Castle wasn't expecting company that next morning, but the guards on the outer walls were all but happy to see Prince Bruno marching up with a line of Koopa Troopas. The Koopa Prince didn't seem too happy though, and he had his reasons why…

Inside the castle, Bruno was greeted by his sweetheart and fiancé, Princess Cherry, with a great big hug. He took her arms into his claws gently and frowned, "We've been all over Isle Delfino; still no sign of my father."

"That was his favorite vacation spot too," Cherry replied somberly. "Are you sure he didn't leave you any clues to his whereabouts?"

"None," shook the big reptile's head. "He's not in Dark Land, or Star Haven, or even the Waffle Kingdom… I'm starting to think that he might be…"

Cherry was quick to touch his lips. "Don't talk like that, Bruno. Mario and Luigi are getting ready to head off to the Kong Islands; if you want to, I'm sure they'll take you with them."

Bruno made a pout and turned away in disbelief. "…I've already tried to make my peace with Mario. He still won't accept me."

Cherry sympathized and this time took his claw into her hand. "Come with me; let's walk a bit."

The two of them walked over to a balcony of the second level, where they could overlook a glorious view of the kingdom. From where they stood, green misty mountains cascaded over the horizon, while lush green fields full of blooming flowers spilled over and through peaceful mushroom-shaped villages.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Cherry asked Bruno with a certain softness in her voice. "Of course I do," smiled the big green Koopa. "I was testing out my clown car, when it crashed right into that wall down there." Cherry giggled, "We thought we were under attack." "I thought _I_ was under attack," snickered Bruno. "…But then I saw you running out, and as soon as I looked into the big beautiful eyes of yours…" The two of them paused, blushing. "Well anyway," smiled Bruno, "it sure took a while for all those Toads to come around and accept me."

Cherry nodded firmly, "And wherever we go, there may always be nay-sayers. But Bruno, we can't let any of that get in between us. We've already lost so much- your kingdom, my parents, your father… We have to stick together no matter what."

"Yes, I know." Bruno's smile started to fade as his mood changed back into sorrow. "…But Cherry, even if we do get married, there's still one thing that may come between us."

"What's that?"

"Time. We Koopas could live up to two-hundred years, but you humans aren't so lucky. If I could, I'd stop the clock right now and keep you with me forever. But I know that's not possible."

"Aw Bruno," Cherry sighed as she stretched out her arm to hold as much as his middle as she could. "When my time comes I'll want to make sure you'll be happy. That's all that matters to me."

"You're much too kind, my princess. Too kind…" The two of them paused again to stare into each others' eyes, and let the silence do all the talking for them before embracing each other.

Just two rooms away, in their own personal quarters, were Mario and Luigi. They couldn't overhear what Cherry and Bruno were saying, but they knew they were together, and that bothered the smaller of the twins. Mario kept pacing back and forth mumbling to himself, while a contented Luigi sat on the edge of the top bunk of their beds reading a small book.

"…Our princess, engaged to a Koopa!" snarled Mario to himself aloud. "Wat on earth izza she thinking? Sure, he's big, sure he's strong… but a cold-blooded reptile too! Gah… Dis bugs me; it really, really bugs me."

"I think it's sweet," said Luigi all of a sudden.

Mario stopped in his tracks and glared angrily at the green one. "Of course you would. She's-a not _your_ lil' bambina, is she!?"

"So wat if she likes a Koopa?" Luigi asked while putting down his book. "He never hurt 'er, did he? Huh? Did he ever kidnap 'er an' put 'er in a cage?"

"Dat's-a not de point, Weegie. We' de Mario's; we _hate_ Koopas!"

"De princess don't hate Koopas. She loves Bruno."

"…So?"

"…So, dat kinda makes 'im family. …Don't it?"

As much as it disturbed Mario to think of any Koopa- let alone the Prince of Koopas- as family, he found himself at a loss by Luigi's words. In a way, he was right; there was a profound connection between their bloodline and Cherry's, and whoever she favored in a mate, be he human or not, they would have no choice but to accept him. Mario sighed deeply; "…You' right, Weegie. …But still."

"But still, nothing." Luigi slipped over the bed's edge and landed softly on his feet. "We' not Cherry's keepers; we just gotta accept whatever or whoever she chooses. Besides, she knows Bruno better'n we do, ah?"

Mario furrowed his brows, still discontented. "She-a better hope she know 'im better, 'cause if he lays one claw on 'er, so help me I'll-"

"Gentlemen?" Jeebs peeked into the doorway unexpectedly, his mushroom head sticking through the door like a sore thumb. "If you'll excuse me for interrupting, the princess would like a word with you."

Waiting for them in the hallway were Bruno and Cherry, still holding hands/claws. "Eh," cringed Mario upon seeing the not-so-cute couple together again. "Wat's goin' on?"

Bruno bravely stepped forward and replied, "I want to go with you to the Kong Islands. My father might be there; and besides, you could use all the help you could get."

The little red plumber furrowed his eyebrows at the Koopa prince. "You beginnin' ta sound like all dose people back in Sarasa Land."

"Now Mario," Cherry began to say. Mario interrupted, "I know wat he meant, princess! I don' need a Koopa helpin' me do my job. All I need is my lil' brother Luigi, an' I'll be fine."

"But you can't just waltz onto those islands without even knowing where to go or who to talk to!" Bruno argued. Mario confidently replied, "We'll just take on whoever decides ta get nasty wit us. Dat's how I always do it, an' dat's how I'm-a gonna do it today."

Bruno started to growl; "Are you really that confident, or are you just plain crazy?" "Oh no, he's-a really dat confident," smiled Luigi. "You stay outta dis," snapped his big brother.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," grumbled the Koopa prince, turning to Cherry for support. "All I ask is that I help out this one time, and he gives me the cold shoulder. Again!" "You really wanna help?" Mario asked suddenly; "Den you stay here an' watch over de princess while we're gone." Stunned, Bruno turned back to the plumbers with a gapped jaw. "…You really mean that?" Mario glanced over to Luigi, who gave him a wink. "If she trusts you, den I dunna see why we shouldn't." Then Mario grumbled under his breath, "I still dunna like dis pairing." Luigi, hearing him, gave him an elbow to the ribs.

"You're sure you don't want any help?" frowned Cherry worriedly. "I'd come with you myself if…" Mario shook his head just before she finished speaking. "Knowin' you're safe here is all I need ta keep me going, princess," he replied. "…Alright. If that's all settled, then I'd like you gentlemen to follow me downstairs," said Jeebs.

As the plumbers saluted the princess and turned to follow the little Toad, Cherry's nerves could no longer take the stress. After all this time, she still hadn't opened herself up to the Mario's, but that was about to change. "Wait… Grampa!" she called out abruptly. The plumbers, stunned by her words, stopped in their tracks and looked back to her. The princess picked up her dress, ran over to the littlest of plumbers, and knelt down to his level. With her eyes watering up with tears, she panted, "…I just wanted to say… Good luck to you both."

Mario's heart melted and smiled lovingly to her while brushing her chin. "You know I'm-a not really your great-grampa, princess." She gulped softly, "But you're part of him. …And you're the only family I have left." "Come on now, dunna worry 'bout me," he purred. "Dey didn't put me in a freezin' cold sleepin' chamber for over a hundred years just so I could fail. Trust me, bambina mia, I'll be fine." With her heart refueled with reassurance, Cherry threw her arms over her would-be relative. He was all too happy to return the hug.

Bruno now fully understood Mario's initial concern for Cherry, and sighed. "…Mario, I…" "Uh-uh," waved Mario's finger at him; "Dunna ruin de moment. …Now, lessa go, Weegie." "Right," nodded Luigi. "…Where we stoppin' to first, Jeebs?" The little elderly Toad smiled as he led the way, "Oh, there's just something I want to show you before you go. You could call it a reminder of old times." Cherry and Bruno saw them off with their arms locked and hopes high.

All the while, the Spy Guy camera watched carefully through a hole in the stone wall.

Jeebs had led Mario and Luigi down the same secret passageway that led to their sleeping chambers, which puzzled the plumbers because they were unaware of what else could be hiding down in that dark, cold basement. When they reached the room, Jeebs relit the candelabras on the walls and began to carefully shake them about.

"Now, let's see… It's one of these."

"Uh," peeped Mario, "wat exactly are we doin' back down here, Jeebs?"

The elder Toad smiled, "Back when I was younger, I accidentally came across this old cavern, and I not only found you but something else. Something that I think your friends from the past left behind that may come in handy- Aha! Here it is." He then pulled down on the last candelabra, which bent down all the way.

That same wall slid to the left, indicating that it was the doorway to another secret room. This one was much smaller, and filled to the gills with lots of strange gadgets. In fact,t hat's what they were: "Gaddgets," produced by an old friend of the original plumbers, Professor Elvin Gadd.

Awestruck, the twins approached the closet and pulled from it a few items that sparked their memories: FLUDD 2, a reversion of the old backpack equipped with two hoses that could be used as both jet propellers and guns; The Poltergust, a vacuum made especially for sucking up ghosts and ghouls. Other wacky items included a small briefcase- possibly "Stuffwell," a very large paintbrush, an invisible cloak (The Ghost Gown), and in the very back were two go-karts- one red and one blue.

"Wow," awed Mario; "Dis looka like Proffessor E. Gadd's garage!"

"Hey Mario," said Luigi as he picked up a pair of silver boots. "What're dese boots for, ah?" "Oh," smiled Jeebs through his beard, "I believe those are called Gravity Boots. Yes, they're one of the professor's very last inventions- so I'm told. Here, try them on you two! There's a pair for each of you." Jeebs was right; there were only two pairs of these bizarre boots, and each one was specially designed for one of the two plumbers. "Heh-heh," giggled Luigi, "we looka like we' goin' on a ski trip."

Jeebs explained, "Now if I recall correctly, those boots are meant to help you two control your jumps. You, Mario, aren't much of a jumper yourself- at least not compared to your brother. But with these boots, you can defy gravity." "Sweet," smiled the little red plumber, and was all too eager to test them out. With one great leap, he took off like a rocket and catapulted his head into the ceiling. As Luigi looked on with great worry, Jeebs replied, "Oh dear. Maybe they should have come with helmets." Mario came crashing back down with stars swirling around in his face; he was dazed by the crash. "He never learns," shook Luigi's head.

"Now you, Luigi," Jeebs told him, "you have a certain problem with traction while Super-Jumping, yes?" "Si-si," nodded the green one. "Well, these boots can help with that by magnifying themselves so that you can come back down to earth faster." "Okay," smiled Luigi, "I'm-a just gonna take your word for it, amico mio."

As Mario quickly shook himself out of his daze, Jeebs turned to him and asked, "So fellas, which of these Gaddgets are you going to take with you on your trip?" Mario and Luigi paused while staring blankly at each other. "Hmmm," they mused in unison.

Before long, they stuffed everything- yes, _everything_- into the tiny suitcase lying in the middle of the closet. The plumbers knew fully well that Stuffwell could transport things like no other suitcase- that was its function, of course. And so, they left nothing behind in that closet. Not even the go-karts.

"Alright then!" cheered Jeebs, looking upon the plumbers while Mario held onto Stuffwell tightly. "I wish you both the best of luck, and I hope those Gaddgets come in handy." "Oh, we know dey will," nodded Mario. "So we ready den?" asked Luigi. His brother gave him the thumbs up; "Let's-a go, bro."

Spy Guy, still in its tiny camera form, watched from a balcony as the two confident plumbers marched out of the castle while guards and delegates alike cheered and waved at their departure. The tiny robotic creature gave off a small sound of disapproval; it knew this was bad news it would have to report to the Mastermind.

**Dark Island**

There was only one time of day that The Mastermind would take off his steel Bowser mask and helmet, and that was dinnertime. In her secluded potion room, the Magikoop named Karmina was stirring up a soup of red mushrooms, the kind that gave users the power of Super Growth. It was Mastermind's favorite meal, for he depended on it to keep him large and strong. Carefully, the dark-robed, bespectacled Koopa poured the red mixture into a bowl and gently walked it down a long hallway and into a dining room. There, The Mastermind was waiting.

"Your soup, sire," was all the elderly Koopa said, before quickly leaving him alone in the room. Once he was alone, the large centauric cyborg slowly peeled away the tubes on his neck. With each peel, a breath of hot smoke seeped out. He then carefully lifted the heavy helmet off his head with his two humanoid arms. He placed the helmet right beside the bowl of soup before taking it up, and then proceeded to drink it down as if it was a cup.

Suddenly, the doors of the room opened up, and through them came the small purple Shy Guy. "Excuse me, Mastermi—Oh!" he gasped in surprise. From where he stood, he could only see from behind the giant cyborg; but as he spoke, the giant's face turned around. For once, he could see the Mastermind's eyes- a pair of pitch-black ones with piercing red irises. He could also see mangled black hair dripping down the back of his head, and a pair of super-long, wiry whiskers sticking out from his shadowed face. The glare he was giving Shy Guy gave the creature such a fright that he froze solid. "I… I-I… uh…"

"Fool!" he roared, as one of his whiskers came forward and whipped the little Shy Guy off his feet. He wailed in pain and terror as his Master quickly grabbed hold of his Bowser mask. It only took The Mastermind a few seconds to reattach the helmet to his head, and then he growled menacingly, "Have I not yet made it clear? No one is to see me like this! Now speak, before I skin you alive!"

The Shy Guy bravely but clumsily shook off his terror and rose back onto his feet. "I-I-I-uuh… Ha-had to tell you this, sir. AH! Ah! Master!! Master, is what I meant to say! Ehh…"

"Go on?"

"W-well, the Mario Brothers. They're, uh, th-the Spy Guy overheard them talking about going to Donkey Kong Island… Sir. M-Master, Sir."

Mastermind brushed off his initial rage and sighed softly. "Hmm… So they're outright challenging me, are they? …That's good. It's been a long time since I've had some real competition. Send the message to K. Rool; tell him he'll be expecting some unwelcome visitors."

"Yes, sir! Master, sir!" saluted the Shy Guy.

"And if anything goes wrong_ this_ time," added the Mastermind, as his wiry whiskers accidentally peered through the nostrils of his mask, "I'll take care of it myself…"

**Donkey Kong Island- Beach**

There truly is no other place in the Mushroom World like the Kong Islands. As it is with Australia on Earth, the Kong Islands were like a world of their own, with everything from a vast sweltering jungle to ice capped mountains- one of which was actually shaped like Donkey Kong himself, on the main land. As for its inhabitants, they too were special; various species of rodents, reptiles and birds could only be found here. But the most special of all were the gorillas called Kongs. They were the true rulers of this big yet tiny world.

Mario and Luigi arrived on a beach of the mainland by a small boat pulled by a friendly sea mammal called an Orco. Once the boat docked, the plumbers jumped to the shore on their Gravity Boots, which they had just mastered the use of.

"Okay," smiled an eager Mario, "which way should we go first, bro?"

"Which way's de closest to the Kongo?" asked Luigi as he stared at the forbidding jungle ahead.

"I'm-a not sure… We can either go t'rough de highlands, or de swampland. Which do you prefer?"

"Well… I'm-a pretty comfortable wit water, so I say de swamplands."

"Okie-dokie. Better grab de FLUDD 2 den, you're gonna need it."

"…Wat? Me??"

Mario answered by dragging Stuffwell onto the shore, opening it, and digging through the clutter of objects inside until he found FLUDD 2. He then gave it a mighty heave and dragged it over to his twin. "Here ya go. Take good care of it now."

"Wait!" frowned Luigi in protest; "Aren't we goin' together?"

"Well, I gave it some t'ought. I think it'd be better if we split up an' cover more ground. Dat way, we can find some friendly beasts or free de enslaved ones on de way."

"But Mario-"

"But wat?? You wanna do dis, don't you?"

Luigi's jaw began to tremble; he couldn't remember the last time he went on a solo adventure- or if he did at all. "…Y-yeah, I do, but… w-w-we work better as a team, no?"

Mario smiled as he picked up Stuffwell. "Tell you wat, let's make dis a race. Whoever gets to de Kongo and finds de Donkey Kong first will be treated to a nice dinner when we git home."

"Really?" Luigi's mouth watered suddenly. "You mean _you'd_ make_ me_ dinner for once?"

"…Yeah, well dat's if you win," winked Mario.

Intrigued, Luigi reached into Stuffwell to pick out a few of his own tools, then picked up FLUDD 2 and fastened it on his back. "…Pasta primavera wit garlic bread. Remember dat."

Mario rolled his eyes, having no doubt in his mind that he would win the race. "Sure. Watever. …Ready? And go!" The two of them raced down opposite ends of the beach, one going north the other south.

Had they stayed on the beach a minute longer, they might have noticed another ship sailing toward the island.

**The Highlands**

Mario never dreamed of Super-Jumping before, but now that he could, he couldn't get enough of it.

"WAAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOO!!"

His booming cheer echoed across the mountains as the red plumber nearly soared through the sky, only to come back down to earth and then take off again like a giant flea. Mario was exhilarated, and almost completely forgot his quest.

While still jumping, he managed to get as high up as some small misty clouds and found a few coins hidden between them. These, of course, were no ordinary coins used as currency, but worked as special types of power-ups. Had he collected enough of them, he would be rewarded with new special powers. Yet, it was during these high jumps when he finally met his match in the form of a bee. …Or rather, a Zinger.

Zingers were a very large species of hornets with sharp spikes on their abdomens, making them hard to defeat by simply hitting them. Mario wasn't watching where he was jumping, and managed to land his foot on a Zinger's back. Instantly, a jolt of pain shot through his leg. "Yowch!!" He lost his composure and crashed onto a bed of soft grass on the earth.

While still stunned, the little plumber examined his shoe carefully. "Mama mia," he muttered in pain. "…Wat was dat?" As if answering his question, the insect hovered down to his level, buzzing furiously. Mario recognized it quickly; "Oh, a Zinger! …Hey there, amico mio. Have you seen de Donkey Kong around here?" He noticed that the hornet wasn't wearing any kind of mind-manipulating headband, and so it must have been acting on free will. But what he didn't take into account was that this was not a friendly little bug.

The Zinger arched its back, revealing the longest of its spikes where a normal stinger would be, and charged. "Yow!" Mario yelped, knowing full well how painful that sting would have been, and dashed off. He wasn't going anywhere in particular, just as far away from the Zinger as he could. But the hornet was on his tail, itching for a fight. As he ran, Mario thought out loud, "…Barrel. …I need a barrel! Where's a barrel wen you need-a one!?"

The chase went on until Mario found relief at last, in the form of a small pond. He jumped in quickly and stayed completely underwater until the deterred Zinger left. When it did, Mario threw his head out of the water and took a long, deep gasp before he nearly drowned. "…Okay. Dis is not goin' well," he thought out loud. He swam back to shore then pulled out from his back the Stuffwell. Just how it managed to stay hidden all this time was a mystery. He opened the briefcase and rummaged through it, hoping to find something- anything- that could keep the hornets off his trail. All he could find that may prove useful was a mallet, one of his favorite tools in a crisis. "Alright, Plan B," he mused to himself as he made the Stuffwell disappear again.

**Swamp Land**

Luigi wasn't one to go off on his own normally, but he felt confident enough to do so as this was not his first trip to the island. He felt even braver knowing that he had with him the FLUDD and a few favorite tools under his belt. One of those tools was the same wrench he used against the Angler-Cheep back in Central City- the one the giant fish bent almost in half. Still carrying a soft spot for it, he now saw it as just a lucky charm. While marching through wet marsh, he whistled an age-old tune:

"_Do-So-Mi, La-Ti-Li-La_

_So-Do-Mi-La, Fa-So, Mi-Do-Re-Ti_

_Do-So-Mi, La-Ti-Li-La_

_So-Do-Mi-La, Fa-So, Mi-Do-Re-Ti…"_

He added one long whistle, "_Whee-ee-eew_…" when he came across a log bridge that hovered over a dank and gloomy-looking lake, surrounded by a wall of trees. It seemed like an adventure within itself, for it was unclear just what was waiting in the water. The green plumber took a gulp and a deep breath and very gingerly stepped onto the bridge. It was rickety, but otherwise stable. With his confidence renewed, Luigi began to cross.

"…Heh. Dis isn't so hard," he smiled to himself, just before a Lockjaw- a tiny, orange piranha-like fish that really did have a lock jaw- jumped out of the water and spooked him. He grabbed onto the rope of the bridge tightly with one hand, his heart with the other. "…Okay," he panted, "git a hold o' yerself, Weegie. Nothin' t'worry about. Just a lil' fish…" He pushed himself onward.

Little fish. Sure, Luigi could handle those… But** big** fish, like Lunge Fish? Now that was another story! The green plumber was so preoccupied with keeping his balance on the bridge that he didn't notice a very big lily pad coming his way. Only it wasn't a lily pad at all; it was a submerged gigantic fish that was stalking him. The great Lunge Fish popped out of the water so quickly that it caused a tidal wave strong enough to throw the bridge off kilter. Luigi held on tight, but as soon as he saw a pair of jaws open wide to swallow him whole, he screamed in terror.

His scream may have alerted locals, for almost immediately following his cry, a set of feathered spears came flying through the air and struck the big green fish. The Lunge Fish took the hits hard and fell back into the water. As before, it made a great splash, but this one was great enough to snap the ropes of the log bridge. Panic-stricken, Luigi grabbed onto one log and started to balance himself on it. He was agile enough, even, to walk backwards on it and thus propelling it as far away from the fish as best he could. That's when he started to hear drums.

From out of the dark woods came Kritters- a member of the Kremling race, Kritters were crocodiles with lime green scales, and were as tall as the average human. These particular Kritters wore white painted stripes and spots on their faces and feathered hats and grass skirts- perhaps they were part of some kind of tribe? Oddly enough, their belt buckles were of the same skull and cross-bone designs worn by their ancestors. They crawled through the water like pros, armed with long feathered spears, aiming them toward Luigi.

"Uh-uh-uh… I come in peace!" called out the plumber, with no response from the reptiles. "Uh… Hablo no Englese? …L'Italiano?" Still no response. Finally, feeling like he had run out of options, Luigi held out his hands like claws and yelled, "Thunder!"

…Nothing happened.

Puzzled, Luigi tried it again. "Come on, Thunderhand! Light 'em up! Zap it!! …Please?" Still nothing. "Hmm." Luigi paused to scratch his chin in puzzlement. "I dunno understand; it worked back at Beanbean Castle… Did I lose my touch er somet'ing?" He didn't realize it then, but the reason why he had lost Thunderhand was due to lack of energy.

The savage-looking Kritters waved their spears; one of them yelled, "Akka-Pango pokko!" "POKKO!" they cried out in unison. "No!" panicked Luigi; "No pokko! Me plumber!! Me no threat to you!" But his pleas weren't helping; the Kritters yelled all the louder, bearing their fangs.

Just then, a small grenade came launching at them, hitting a nearby tree. The startled Kremlings let out gasps, and the ring leader pointed forward. "Gnawtical-pokko!" "Pokko!!" replied his followers. Curious, Luigi turned around, and saw that a troop of Gnawties- so named for their resemblance to beavers- came swimming their way, armed with explosive coconuts. Luigi was quick to realize that they had silver headbands on their brows- the kind Mastermind's minions had on. "Those are Mastermind's cronies," he gasped.

Again, the Gnawticals catapulted the coconuts with their rudder-like tails, only they were aiming for the Kritters as well as the plumber. The Kritters ducked underwater, but Luigi wasn't so fortunate. He made a big splash as he was knocked off the log he sat on. The Gnawticals were quick to move in, but just as they had the Kremlings surrounded, a bigger splash was made. It was Luigi, and for once he was using the FLUDD 2 as a boost.

Once airborne, Luigi regained his adrenalin and shot a torrent of water at the Gnawticals. Some were hit, but they came rolling back like teeter-totters. Clearly, the water attack wasn't going to work, so Luigi thought of another plan. He reached for the nearest tool under his belt, and pulled out… the bent wrench. "Augh!" he growled in frustration; now was not the time for a lucky charm! The coconuts were launched again.

Instinctively, Luigi threw his "V" shaped wrench at the coconut. Not only did it reflect the weapon, but the wrench kept going until it flung itself right at the Gnawtical that launched it. The beaver was hit right on the head, splitting the headband in half, and fell into the water. The wrench then pulled a 180-degree angle in midair, and flew back to Luigi's hand. That's when it occurred to him: the wrench was shaped like a boomerang!

"…Heh-heh-heh. Sweet justice," he grinned, and launched it again. He managed to knock out three more beavers in a row before the wrench came back to him. He threw it again and again, until the little beavers were discouraged enough to retreat. Once they were gone, Luigi then turned to the astonished Kritters. "Akka-panga pokko?" he asked them. He was given a simple answer: "Pokko!!" And with that, they retreated underwater.

All the while, Luigi was airborne thanks to the FLUDD 2. He piloted himself to the shore, twirling his prized wrench. "Yeah, dat's- a right," he grinned confidently. "Nobody messes wit Luigi an' his… uh… Booma-Wrench! …Yah. I like that." Feeling extra good about himself, he marched on.

On his way out of the marsh, he came across a small mouse that was climbing up a tree. Luigi then waved his Booma-Wrench at it menacingly. "Ya wanna piece? Huh? Ya want it?" The timid little mouse scurried up the tree as a response. "Yeah. Dat's-a wat I thought," replied the plumber with a deep tone in his voice. He felt like nothing could stop him now. That pasta primavera was sure to be his!

**Kong Jungle**

While Mario went north to the highlands and Luigi headed south toward the wetlands, another visitor cut straight through the jungle and headed down an uneasy path to find the Kongo- the heart of the jungle. This fellow, who was much bigger than the plumbers and dragged a tail behind him, was hoping to be the first to find the one gorilla whom could be named Donkey Kong. The name "Donkey Kong" nowadays was more like a title, given to the strongest and overall greatest of apes. This visitor was practically desperate to find him, for he had much to gain if he succeeded… and much more to lose if he failed.

As he trampled through tall grass and thick vines, the big fellow paused only once to hear the eerie sound of an airship approaching. He ducked into the brush in hopes he wouldn't be seen. His bull-like horns and bright red moehawk may have given him away, but as he glanced up to the sky, he could see that this was no ordinary airship hovering over the canopy. This ship was very large, mostly black in color, and its mast was shaped like the head of a Koopa King. The island visitor gulped in terror; The Mastermind was here! He could only watch as the great airship made a slow and wind-raking landing somewhere in the heart of the jungle.

The visitor picked up the pace as he lost sight of the airship. He was running out of time!

**Vine Valley**

Mario wasn't out of danger just yet. Just beyond the highlands he found an open plain full of ancient ruins covered in vines- hence the term "Vine Valley." The ever so curious plumber took his time on the beaten path to overlook the sheer beauty of this land swallowed up by grass and weed. All the while, he was being followed.

Mario stopped at one broken up wall of what used to be a stone shrine. He wiped and pulled away the weedy vines covering it, and saw ancient-looking sketches. He was amazed to see one such sketch of a large gorilla standing atop rows of platforms, and a sketchy stick figure of a woman beside him. At the very bottom of the platforms was a small plump man armed with a mallet, running toward the second level. Between him and the top level were circles, possibly symbolizing something like fireballs… or barrels, perhaps. Mario stared intently at this image; what did it mean? Was it some kind of homage to a part of this island's history? Then it dawned on him that the gorilla on top looked very much like a Kong. …Perhaps it was one of the first- if not THE first- Donkey Kongs.

Mario explored more of the wall, pulling vines away, to reveal other such patterns. One was of a big ape on top of a platform once again, only this time he was boxed in by a square. The man from the previous image was sitting beside the box, resting perhaps. Below them were long vertical lines, and among those lines was a symmetrical shape of a much smaller ape- perhaps those were vines, and he was swinging on them. Again, Mario was puzzled at this imagery.

The little plumber wanted to see more, and ripped away at more vines as he was coming to the edge of the shattered wall. The third sketchy image was even more bizarre than the first two; there was still a large ape and a small man, but this time it was the large ape climbing up two vertical lines while the man stood right below him, holding what looked like some kind of gun, aiming it directly under the ape. The ape looked very agitated, as it showed with his eyes in perfect circles and teeth gritted. Just above him was a cone of some sort, with tiny circles swarming around it. The more Mario stared at it, the more this part of the image looked like a bee hive, with angry bees buzzing about. And for a moment, that buzzing was starting to sound real. …In fact, it was real!

"_Bzzzz! Bzzz-zz-zz-zz bzzzz!!"_

The plumber jumped up in alarm and whirled around to see not one, but a swarm of Zingers staring him down! He yelped in surprise and took off in a flash, with the furious hornets on his tail. When they had him cornered at a pillar, they lunged at him. Remembering his mallet, Mario whipped it out from behind him and started swinging like a madman at the hornets. He managed to knock out a few, but more were coming. There just didn't seem to be an end to them. When the road was made clear, he gave chase again.

Desperate for another way to end this pestering, Mario pulled out the Stuffwell while still running, and figured the one thing he could do was find whatever he could in it and throw it at the Zingers. First he pulled out a banana peel and tossed it. Then a green turtle shell. Then a Bob-omb. Then some kind of vacuum cleaner- the Poltergust 3000, in fact. Then passports. Then a pink princess dress. Then he pulled out a mushroom covered in yellow and black stripes. Wait! It dawned on him: this was a power-up!

Mario then held onto the mushroom tightly while throwing the Stuffwell at the Zingers. While most of them were stunned, he made his way to a small ditch and dove into it. When the remaining Zingers thought they had him cornered with no way out, they surrounded the ditch and poked out their razor-sharp stingers, ready to launch them at their target. Then, all of a sudden, a giant bee came flying out of the ditch… a bee with a mustache!

The Zingers fell back in amazement, as they looked like they were at a complete loss for thought. Bee Mario, as he called himself while in this form, was actually the same old Mario dressed in a silly bee suit with wings that could actually fly. This was, of course, made possible by the Bee Mushroom he just activated. With a smile on his face, he fluttered toward the Zingers, knowing he had fooled them into thinking he was one of their own.

"Buzz, buzz. Buzz-buzz-buzz," he mimicked them.

The Zingers nodded slowly, as if they understood his language. Then one of them buzzed, _"Bzz-zz-zz Bzz-bzz bzz-zz-zz-zz-zz bzz bzz!"_ The others buzzed in agreement. Mario soon found himself surrounded by the spiky-backed hornets, only this time their demeanor was much friendlier toward him. It would seem that the trick worked, and now instead of killing him, they were interested instead of bringing him to their hive. He allowed them to lead him on; at least they could take him to someone that could become an ally of his. That was his hope at least.

**Kremling Kingdom (The Kongo)**

As Luigi stepped out from the dark forest and into the light of an open plain, he could smell the sweet aroma of pasta primavera on his nose. This was it- he made it first to the dwelling of the Kongs!

Up ahead was a temple made of stone and ivory, with torches on the side to light the path. Surely the Donkey Kong was here; this looked well enough like a dwelling fit for a king. …And indeed, it was.

Only this king was not an ape, but a Kremling: King K. Rool XVIII. Like his forefathers, the spoiled rotten ruler of the Kremling race was no more than a Kritter dressed in a red robe, a crown, and donning golden armor over his chest and belly. He sat on a bamboo throne atop a long wooden staircase, fanned by giant palm leaves and served a cup of coconut juice by a Klump- a huge, bulky Kremling with deep red scales. Like the Kremlings, K. Rool himself was not banded; he worked for The Mastermind willingly. After all, it was The Mastermind who gave him authority over this island.

As for his subjects, most of them were banded with mind-warping headgear, particularly the rhino-like Rambi who were used to pull his majesty's transporters; the ram-like Hoofers who acted as temple guards, and the Ellies, two of which were the ones fanning his majesty as he basked in the glory his ancestors fought so hard for.

K. Rool sipped his drink slowly, then narrowed an eye to the brainwashed Klump that served it. "Kenny," grumbled the spoiled king, "this coconut's not lumpy enough. Take it away." "Yes, your majesty," replied the Klump monotonously, and walked down the staircase as his master commanded.

K. Rool slouched in his throne; "I'm bored… Polly, sing me a song."

From a birdcage nearby sat a small exotic parrot, who squawked in reply. "_Meeeeem'riiiiies, like the corners of my miiiiiind._ Rawk!_ Misty water-colored meeeeeem'riiiiiies…_ RAWK!"

"Okay, okay! That's enough singing! Geeze." growled K. Rool, waving his claws. "How about a knock-knock joke?"

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there."

"Boo."

"Boo who?"

"Don't cry, it's just a joke. RAWK!"

"…Meh. I've heard that one before. …How about a riddle, Polly?"

"Rawk! What appears once in every minute, twice in every moment, but not once in a billion years?"

"…I give up."

"The letter M. Rawk!"

K. Rool cracked a smile. "Heh. That was cute." The big green crocodile then yawned slowly. "…Geeze. You'd think being a king would be fun, right? But nothing ever happens around here."

As if on cue, the front doors flew open. This caught K. Rool so much by surprise that he almost fell out of his throne. He quickly scrambled to his feet and roared. "Who goes there!? Speak up!" Expecting perhaps a real challenge, or perhaps his boss The Mastermind, K. Rool was once again surprised to see a small human dressed in a green T-shirt, denim overalls, and a strange looking backpack walk through the doors.

"Hello?" peeped Luigi nervously. "…Is dis de right place?"

"Guards! Seize him, and uh, bring him to me!" shouted the king. Luigi was then snatched up by his arms by two large blue Kremlings and hauled to the bottom of the staircase. K. Rool crossed his arms and gave a look of real authority. "Now, state your name and business here, stranger."

Luigi politely tipped his hat, before the large blue reptiles forced him onto his knees in genuflection. "Hi… I'm-a Luigi Mario, and I'm-a looking for de Donkey Kong. Have you seen him?"

"…Donkey Kong?" K. Rool cracked a smile. He slowly began to chuckle. "…Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! You must be joking. The Kongs have given up their rule a long time ago; now I'm in charge!"

"Wat??" gasped Luigi. "But we need his help to liberate de island from Mastermind."

"Ooh, I see. So_ you're_ the meddling plumber I was forewarned about." Luigi's confidence level dropped a great deal as he realized he walked straight into the jaws of danger. K. Rool grinned evilly, "You see, pal, Mastermind is my employer and I don't take kindly to anyone that's got a problem with him."

"Den I got no choice but to fight you," replied Luigi as he tried to get back up on his feet. He was pushed back down by the Kremling guards.

"Fight me? King K. Rool?" The slender green reptile looked shock at such a proposition. "Nonsense! I can't afford to get my robe and crown dirty… But I'll tell you what. Since you're so itching for a fight, why don't I just pit you against my best fighter?"

Luigi gulped softly. "…And if I win, den will you surrender?"

K. Rool bowed sarcastically. "I would be more than happy to give back this island if you win. But remember, he's my best. Are you up for the challenge?"

Luigi felt like he had no choice, as he was surrounded by the enemy. "I guess so," he nodded nervously.

"So be it." K. Rool snapped his claws, signaling a command.

A pair of side doors creaked open, and bongos began to beat in a military-like rhythm. Luigi stared in awe at the teams of Klumps and Kritters, all dressed similarly to those he met in the swamp, banging percussions and waving feathery banners. They lined up in a circle, as if forming an arena around Luigi, who was left in the center. Then, from within the doorway, came a most terrifying roar. It almost sounded like that of a lion, but in fact, it was a gorilla's.

Luigi's teeth began to chatter, as a very large and bulky ape with dark blue fur and donning spiky silver armor came tumbling out of the doors. His lower jaw had fangs as long as tusks, and his helmet bore the emblem of the skull and cross-bones used by the Kremlings. Stranger still was the fact that among his armory, this beastly gorilla wore a red necktie with the letters "DK" in yellow in its center. This was the tie preserved only for the true Donkey Kong- a title this unrelated ape reserved for himself, apparently.

"See, he may not be a Kong, but Silver-Back here can tango with the best of them. You're number's up, plumber boy!" K. Rool gave a toothy grin to Luigi. "Get him, Silver. He wants your tie!"

Upon hearing this, the dark ape's eyes burned red with fury. He bellowed a hellish roar and beat his armored chest that gave off a cymbal-like clash. Luigi braced himself for a charge as the ape entered the makeshift arena. He would have to count on everything he had now. The battle began when K. Rool commanded his parrot, "Ring the bell, Polly!" "Rawk! Ding! Rawk!"

Silver-Back did indeed charge Luigi, jaws foaming with rage. Luigi was quick to use the FLUDD 2's flight ability and shot to the air, missing the impact. As Silver-Back swatted at him furiously, Luigi shot gallons of water at him. All that did was stun him for a moment, then the ape really got mad. The plumber then switched his strategy over to his Booma-Wrench, which he flung with accuracy. It clonked the big ape's helmet, and didn't do as much damage as Luigi had hoped. But still, the wrench came flying back to him and he prepared to try again.

Meanwhile, King K. Rool immediately had a bucket of popcorn ordered to him.

Luigi stayed afloat, dodging one swat after another. He pulled a mallet from his belt and tried to knock the helmet clean off Silver-Back. With one great swing, he only dented the helmet, but it was enough to stun the beast. Silver-Back fell onto his back, giving Luigi a chance to turn off the jet pack and land on the beast's chest. He stomped on the dazed gorilla three times before it regained consciousness; then Luigi quickly turned the jet pack on again.

As K. Rool took a handful of popcorn, he smiled contently, "Now _this_ is what I call entertainment."

The furious ape slammed his hands onto the ground, causing a minor quake in the room. The Kremlings surrounding the area all fell to their knees from this, but Luigi was unaffected. Silver-Back then jumped into the air, grabbed Luigi by his FLUDD 2, and thrusted him back down to earth. Luigi was stunned by this, but not injured; FLUDD 2 took most of the damage. In fact, as Luigi shook off his shock, he realized that the jet pack had been crushed. He couldn't rely on it anymore. But as Silver-Back lunged at him, the plumber made a quick Super-Jump into the air. Normally, he would stay in the air, but thanks to his Gravity Boots, he came back down as fast as a rock. He timed his landing perfectly, right on top of the great ape's head. The helmet was now so badly dented, that Silver-Back had to rip it off. He was vulnerable now.

Luigi backed up to rethink his strategy, but was soon poked by a spear. The Kremlings were making certain that he couldn't escape the arena, not until their was a victor. Getting the message, Luigi took a step forward and pulled his Booma-Wrench back out. He threw it again, but this time Silver-Back could see it coming. He grabbed it in mid-flight, squeezed it until it was flattened, then tossed it away like trash. Fear once again took over Luigi, and he just stood there while Silver-Back rushed him. The ape gave him a mighty swat, and the plumber went crashing into two unsuspecting Kremlings.

Luigi was seeing stars now, but his pain was far from over. Silver-Back grabbed his legs and started to throw him onto the ground, left and right, left and right, and then twirled him into the air. As he floated, Luigi was beginning to hallucinate; "Ooh, look! Power Stars!" He then crashed onto solid ground, face flat.

"Ooo," groaned K. Rool as he looked away. "I'm not a doctor, but that HAD to hurt."

Silver-Back rolled his opponent over and tapped him, checking to see if he was till alive. He was, and quickly regaining consciousness. Despite the beating he just took, Luigi grabbed onto Silver-Back's finger, and bit down on it. Hard. "YAAAAW!" screamed the big ape, as he tried to shake off the plumber. When Luigi did finally let go, the big ape's index finger was as red as a beacon. This stunned the once proud gorilla, and it gave Luigi a chance to counter-attack. He took a running start, and jumped from the beast's left knee to his arm, then finally to his head. Now that Silver-Back's head was exposed, Luigi stomped on it five times, making each stomp count. Silver-Back once more fell onto his back, giving Luigi a chance to stomp on his chest again. With each attack on the chest, the beast was losing energy.

"Come on, you great stupid ape!" yelled K. Rool from his throne. "I'm not paying you to lose!"

"Rawk! You're not paying him at all."

"Shuddup, Polly!"

Silver-Back regained consciousness, while Luigi was quickly running out of steam- and weapons. All he had left now was his mallet, which he grabbed onto tightly. "Please," he whispered to it, "let dis be de last one." He threw it at the big ape's head. To his shock, Silver-Back grabbed the mallet with his teeth, and munched down on it like it was a toothpick! The dark-furred gorilla then took a deep breath as he got back onto his feet, and charged.

Luigi wouldn't remember what would happen next, for he blacked out at the first swipe of Silver-Back's fists. But surely, what he went through in those last few seconds made all of the Kremlings present cringe with empathetic pain. The plumber was left as nothing more than a crumpled splatter on the floor. Triumphantly, Silver-Back pounded his armored chest, and the Kremlings cheered.

"Bravo. Bravo," clapped K. Rool. "A splendid performance, Silver-Back. We really should give you more opponents, what do you think?" The tired ape just gave him a small gruff and marched back through the side doors, which would lead to his secretive lair. K. Rool then pointed to what was left of Luigi. "You there, Kremlings. Pick up that thing and clean it up. I want him to look his best when we take him to the Master." As King K. Rool began to laugh viciously, it seemed clear that Luigi's fate was sealed.

**Kong Jungle**

Prince Bruno would have been more willing to stay back at Mushroom Castle and guard his beloved princess Cherry, but he felt his need would be far greater here on the island. It was Cherry, in fact, who insisted that he'd go, knowing the safety of her plumber relatives would be safe under his protection. More than anything, he wanted to find his long-lost father, but first he needed to find someone completely different.

"Dinky?? …Dinky Kong, where are you!?" he roared while tiring from his long trek. "Come on out, you little pipsqueak, or I'll shake down all the trees! …Dink? …Dink, I'm not in the mood for hide and seek."

Thoroughly exhausted, Bruno sat atop a great tree root to catch his breath. As fate would have it, a banana peel fell onto his face from a tree above. Startled and angry, he gazed up at the trees.

Just there, sitting up on a tree branch, was a small juvenile gorilla wearing a red bandana around his neck, with brown fur and an uncanny resemblance to the Kongs of old. He was scrawny, so much so that he barely even looked like a gorilla. And yet, he was. The little ape feasted quietly and peacefully on a peeled banana, seemingly unaware of his importance to the island.

"There you are, Dinky!" smiled Bruno excitedly. "I've been looking all over for you. Come on down here, little tyke; I need to speak with you."

Dinky Kong could only communicate through chirps and hollers, but seemed to understand the Koopa prince well. He slid down the tree trunk as if it were a pole and jumped onto Bruno's lap like a kitten.

"You remember me, don't you?" smiled Bruno. "We played golf together two years ago at the Toadstool Tournament. I believe you still owe me a golf club." The little ape giggled in reply.

Then Bruno's tone changed to a more serious one. "Listen, Dinky, we both know that one day you'll be expected to be the next Donkey Kong. Well, my friend, today is that day. You're coming with me to the temple of King K. Rool, and you're going to take back your rightful authority over this… Are you listening to me?" The little chimp-like ape was in the middle of grooming Bruno's wild moehawk while the big Koopa was talking.

"Dinky," his voice grew louder, "you must come with me to fight K. Rool and take back this island! It's your duty as a Kong! Do you understand?"

The little ape nodded.

"Well then, are you coming?"

The little ape shook his head with a look of fright on his face, and jumped back up into the tree.

Bruno looked up at him with a look of sadness in his eyes. "Dink, I've got no time for this. We have friends here, and they all need you. Now you've got to man up- sorry, ape up- and do your great-great-great grandfathers proud."

Dinky Kong shook his flabby fists, indicating that he wasn't much of a fighter.

"I know you're still just a tyke," shrugged Bruno, "but we can take him on together. You and me. Whaddya say, little buddy?"

The little ape jumped up and down on the branch and made loud shrieks in reply. He was looking like a two year old in the middle of a tantrum. Clearly, he was more interested in playing than fighting. Bruno paused to think of what he could do to catch the little ape's attention.

"…Would you do it for a banana?"

Suddenly, the chimp stopped jumping and hollering; his eyes widened in curiosity. "Would you do it for lots and lots of bananas?" grinned Bruno slyly. The little brown ape couldn't help himself; he was a sucker for bananas. He swung down from a vine and chirped excitedly at Bruno. "Good boy," smiled Bruno. "Now let's get you ready for the big battle!" Letting slip his ploy, Bruno dropped his smile as the frightened chimp scaled back up the vine.

The big green Koopa tapped his foot impatiently. "What's it gonna take to get you down here?" The chimp responded with his usual "Oo-oo's" and "Ah-ah's." Bruno sighed, feeling defeated.

Then a light bulb flashed over his head; he figured that if young Dinky was only interested in games, then he would make this mission a game itself. He then folded his arms around his back, acting like he was disappointed. "Oh, well. I was going to invite you to a game of 'Storm The Temple,' but I guess I'll just have to play alone. Oh well… Sure not gonna be fun without a second player, but I'll just have to manage." As he turned to walk away, young Dinky Kong leaned over the tree branch with a look of intrigue in his eyes. Bruno noticed this and frowned, "Oh, it's just a role-play game I made up, but you're not interested. Goodbye, Dinky."

Bruno began to walk away, but he was soon cut off by a very curious little ape. He then smiled at Dinky, "Oh, so you do want to play?" Dinky waved his scrawny little arms in delight; "Oo! Oo! Ah! Ah! Ee-ee-ee!" "Alright," nodded Bruno, "but you'll have to do exactly what I say. Got it?" The chimp nodded. "Good. Now let's get to the Kremling palace; can't play 'Storm The Temple' without a temple, now can we?" The trick had worked; Bruno and Dinky Kong were on their way to battle.

**Zinger Hive**

The place that the Zingers brought Bee Mario was an impressively large bee hive that was big enough to be a fortress. It sat in between two ancient trees at the edge of Vine Valley. The combs of the outer walls shimmered against the sun, perhaps indicating a form of solar power.

On the inside, there were rivers of thick golden honey running smoothly on the ground and along the walls, which made Bee Mario lick his lips in hunger. But now was not the time to eat. The Zingers would push him forward if they felt he was lagging behind. They were insistent in showing him something. Well actually, they wanted to show him some_one_. That one was none other than their Queen.

Queen B. sat on a throne of honeycomb, crowned with a silver metallic band that twinkled like a star. Her size was almost that of a great gorilla, and it was enough to make Bee Mario shiver when he first laid eyes on her. The queen's spikes and stinger looked more like swords or pikes, and her wings were long enough to make a dragonfly jealous. But there was something very odd about her; her eyes seemed sleepy and entranced.

The Zingers stopped Bee Mario before her majesty's honeycomb throne, and one of them stood between them in salute.

"Bzz-zz-zz! Bzz-zz-zz-zz bzz bzz bzz bzz-zz bzz bzz!"

_Translation: "Your majesty! We have found you a new king, flown in from Vine Valley!"_

The queen stared at Bee Mario with a most uninterested glare. "Bzz bzz bzz bzz-zz-zz-zz bzz. Bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz-zz-zz-zz-zz-zz bzz."

_Translation: "I have no interest in kings. My duty is to preserve this hive at all times."_

"Bzz bzz bzz-zz-zz! Bzz-zz-zz-zz-zz-zz-zz-zz. Bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz-zz?"

_Translation: "But your majesty! We've gone for too long without a king. Surely you don't want to test him first?"_

The queen's sleepy eyes gazed on. "Bzz bzz bzz bzz-zz-zz-zz. Bzz-zz-zz-zz bzz bzz."

_Translation: "I must preserve this hive. That is my duty."_

The Zingers turned to each other, buzzing about distressfully. Bee Mario looked on, taking it all in and feeling sympathetic toward the worried hornets. While they were distracted, Bee Mario quickly felt around his suit for a special device he managed to grab from Stuffwell before tossing it away. It was a small Game Boy-like device which he knew could translate foreign languages. He held onto a button and spoke into it:

"Does-a her majesty wish to speak to me? My name is-a Mario, and I want to help you in any way."

Mario then held up the speaker of the device to Queen B. She buzzed again, but this time the words were clearer to him: "I am Queen B., and I have only one interest: to preserve this hive from invaders."

Bee Mario's concerns grew; surely she was more than just an oversized guard! "I'm-a no invader, I'm a friend. Isn't there anything you need? Flowers, maybe?"

"My duty is to this hive. That is all."

"But wat about de island? Isn't it in great danger? Wouldn't you wanna do something about it?"

"You speak foolishly. There is nothing wrong with this island. Now go away, before I send my guards on you."

The Zinger soldiers looked to him with distrust in their oval eyes, but Bee Mario stood his ground as he addressed them all. "De island _is_ in danger. Her majesty canno' see dat because she's locked herself in dis hive. Don't you guys see anything strange about dat?"

Queen B.'s coloring started to flush from yellow stripes to red; she was losing her patience with this stranger. "Protecting this hive is all that matters! That is my command!"

Bee Mario glared at her; "_Who's_ command, yours or someone else's?" As the queen started to shake with fury, her silver crown shimmered again. And that's when it dawned on the plumber: her crown was metallic and banded… just like a mind controller. "Dat's it… Dat thing on your head. It's a mind-warper! Zingers, listen to me! Your queen is being controlled by de Mastermind!"

Queen B.'s coloration was now fully red and black; for the first time in ages, her wings began to flutter. "Guards, seize him!!" she buzzed.

With dozens of angry hornets zipping toward him, Bee Mario had no choice but to take flight. He used his own stinger to block the oncoming sting attacks, but there were so many Zingers that they crowded him. But they were now at a disadvantage, as Mario was now able to kick them right in their faces. As he kicked some away, he whipped out his mallet and swung at them as if they were baseballs.

With her stripes burning red, Queen B. herself launched an attack. As she charged Bee Mario, he held onto her antennae and literally pulled her out of the hive. As they wrestled, he forced her to the ground and tried as hard as he could to shake off her fake crown. She thrust her pike-like stinger at him, but he was so agile that it hit the earth twice. At this close range, she bit into his mallet and threw it away. But then, he punched her dead in the face, stunning her.

As the queen hornet sat on the ground, trying to shake off her dizziness, the plumber in bee's clothing made a Super Jump. "Sorry Queenie," he muttered, "but dis is for your own good!"

**SLAM!**

The impact that Mario's boot had on the queen's fake crown was enough to shatter it to pieces. He paused in midair to oversee the damage, while the confused Zinger swarm looked on. The Queen, now back to her calm yellow stripes, opened her eyes widly. Her trance was broken at last.

"Bzz? Bzz-zz Bzz? Bzz-zz-zz Bzz bzz bzz-zz?"

_Translation: "Huh? Where am I? What just happened?"_

Sensing her confusion, Bee Mario was quick to reply. "You've-a been brainwashed by a Koopa 'bot named Mastermind. He's taken over dis entire island."

"BZZ!?" exclaimed the hornet queen in alarm. She seemed to understand what he was saying, and didn't take to the idea of being controlled at all.

"Come wit me to de Kongo," declared Bee Mario; "We gotta stop dis guy once an' fer all!"

The Queen nodded. "Bzz bzz-zz, bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz-zz-zz!"

_Translation: "All swarms to the Kongo, immediately!"_

The Zingers, never once brainwashed but completely loyal to their queen, nodded and buzzed in agreement. Bee Mario led the charge, feeling satisfied in finally gaining some much needed allies.

**Kremling Kingdom (The Kongo)**

In just a few hours after seeing a great battle between a good-hearted plumber and a vicious wild beast, King K. Rool was once again bored to death. He was practically nodding off in his throne, when once again the front doors flew open.

"Wah! Who goes there!?" he blurted out as he was scared awake. Through the doors marched two figures: a rather large green Koopa, and a very small and scrawny brown ape wearing a red bandana. K. Rool paused in awe; "…Uh. …Y-you there! State your names and business!"

The Koopa gave the reptile a sarcastic bow. "I am Bruno, Prince of the Koopas. And this is Dinky Kong, my associate."

K. Rool eyed the little ape curiously. "…Kong, you say? But the Kongs have been long gone since the great takeover!"

"You're wrong," said Bruno with furrowed brows. "The Kongs are few, but they live. They've been in hiding deep within the jungles, but there's at least one of them who's brave enough to face you. And he's standing right here." While still thinking he was in a role-play game, Dinky Kong gave a fierce (if not silly) kung fu pose.

K. Rool began to laugh out loud. "HA! Hahahahaha! That puny little monkey's gonna be the next Kong!? You must be joking!" "He IS a Kong," growled Bruno, "and I'll prove it! Dinky, show him your Deadly Snake Attack."

Dinky then fell to the floor and with great agility he coiled and slithered up the staircase leading up to K. Rool's throne. When he had the startled reptile in his face, the little chimp beared his fangs and stuck out his tongue like a serpent. _"Hsssss!"_ he mimicked. "Is that supposed to scare m-OW! Owowowowowowowow!!" yelped K. Rool, as he was caught off guard by a bite to the snout.

Dinky then quickly raced down the stairway and gave Bruno a high-five. "Heh-heh-heh. Well done, lil' partner," smiled the Koopa prince.

"You think that's funny?" seethed K. Rool as he held onto his snout. "You'll pay for this insolence. GUARDS!" As his army of Klumps and Kritters surrounded the intruders with spears in their claws, their ruler growled, "Let's see you and your little pet get through them."

"I've got a better idea," suggested Bruno, who kept his cool. "Why don't you let Dinky here prove himself? Let him face your best warrior in a one-on-one match." "…Really?" blinked an intrigued K. Rool. "Yes," nodded Bruno. "If you win, then you can throw us in your deepest, darkest dungeon. But if Dinky wins, then you'll have to give up your authority over the island and give it to Dinky."

"…You're not gonna pull a fast one on me, are you?"

"Nope. I give you my word as a Koopa that I won't interfere."

K. Rool grinned evilly. Surely this tiny chimp was no match for his own personal bodyguard, a 4000-pound machine of a gorilla. "You've got a deal. But first, let me introduce you to my Kong. Oh, Silver-Back!"

Once again, the side doors of the throne room burst open. Kremlings armed with spears lined up to make way for Silver-Back, the very large and very mean dark blue gorilla. As before, this big brute was huffing and beating his chest, but he looked slightly different than before. His armor was tattered from his battle with Luigi, and he had no helmet anymore. Bruno and Dinky looked awestruck by this great beast, but didn't yet realize that he was not at his best.

King K. Rool stood on his throne anxiously. "Didn't think I had a Kong of my own, did ya? Well this one's the real deal, kiddo! Playtime is over!"

The Kremling guards surrounded Dinky Kong in a makeshift arena, just as they had done before. The little chimp shivered with fear as the big dark gorilla came stomping his way. Dinky turned to where Bruno helplessly stood and started to scream in panic.

"Don't worry, Dinky!" called out Bruno. "Remember, we're still playing the game! This guy's not really that strong; he's, uh… uh… a dummy! Yeah, yeah that's it. A dummy!"

"Hey!" growled K. Rool in disapproval. "You said you wouldn't interfere!"

"I'm allowed to coach, aren't I?" argued the Koopa prince. Ignoring the crocodile king's protests, Bruno said to Dinky, "Just remember to keep moving and let him do most of the work. He's just playing with you. Remember that." Dinky was still shaking with fear, but nodded in compliance.

"Now, begin the battle!" roared K. Rool.

Silver-Back slammed his fists onto the floor, causing a minor earthquake. It succeeded in knocking Dinky off his balance, but the little chimp was quick to recover. The big ape tried to swipe at him, but Dinky jumped out of the way. The little chimp then gave chase around and around the big ape. He was proving to be much faster and more agile than the previous opponent, which started to tick Silver-Back off. "Don't let him run circles around you!" called out K. Rool. "Pulverize 'im!"

Again, Silver-Back threw his fists to the floor, and this time Dinky fell onto his back. The big bullying ape then grabbed the small Dinky by his legs and started to twirl him around. He then flung him into a Kremling guard, but as Dinky got back on his feet, he had a silly smile on his face. He seemed to enjoy that! "That's it, Dinky!" smiled Bruno. "Show this guy you're not a pushover. Get him!"

Dinky clapped his hands and ran straight up to Silver-Back and climbed up his great bulky arm. When they met eye to eye, Dinky held up two fingers to the big ape, and then poked his eyes with them. "YAAW!" screamed Silver-Back, as he tried to swat Dinky while blinded. Dinky jumoed out of the way, and the great gorilla slapped himself in the face instead. He fell to the floor in a daze.

"Jump on him! Jump! Jump!" cheered Bruno.

"Don't jump! Don't jump!" pleaded K. Rool.

Dinky Kong then obeyed Bruno's command and jumped onto Silver-Back's plated chest as hard as he could. But the armor proved to be much stronger, and deflected him. "On the head, Dinky! The head!" roared Bruno. Dinky rolled his eyes as if to say, "Oh, duh!" and swiftly kicked the big ape in the face before he regained consciousness. Silver-Back rose up again, just as Dinky jumped off of him.

K. Rool gritted his fangs in fury. "What's the matter with you, you big stupid ape!? You're gonna let this pipsqueak get the better of you? That is not what I trained you for! Now get up and finish the job!" Silver-Back groaned at the crocodile, feeling tired of his orders. Still, he had a reputation to consider, as he faintly stroked his prized DK necktie.

Meanwhile, Dinky ran over to the edge of the arena to meet up with Bruno on the other side of a Kritter. Bruno then whispered to him, "You see that tie, Dinky? That's gonna be yours if you beat this guy. Only a true Donkey Kong can wear that tie. You are a Kong, aren't you?" Dinky nodded excitedly. "Then go back out there and prove it," Bruno nodded back. Dinky returned to the center of the ring while trying to roll back the fur on his "sleeves." He was ready for more.

Avoiding the next earth-shaking fist-slam by Silver-Back, Dinky took a flying leap onto the big gorilla and scrambled to his head. There, he found his edge. Silver-Back tried to swat and punch the little chimp off of him, but Dinky was quick to weave out of the way. Bruno cheered him on, realizing that the young ape had a strategy worked out. Silver-Back's rage became his undoing, as he thoughtlessly punched and smacked his own head while Dinky goaded him on with laughter.

With one last effort to shake off this little punk, Silver Back tucked and rolled around and around the arena, and straight into the Kremling guards. Dinky held on tightly to the hair on Silver-Back's head, and couldn't be shaken off so easily. Silver-Back tried a different kind of roll; this time he used his whole body in somersaults that would take him and the little chimp clear out of the arena.

Rolling over the Kremling guards, Silver-Back tossed and turned like a bowling ball looking for pins. All the while, brave little Dinky Kong balanced himself perfectly by moving his feet like a log racer. Eventually, the big dark ape crashed into a pillar. On force of impact, his armor tore completely off of him, exposing his chest and stomach. But Dinky wouldn't have to stomp him to death; he already figured out that the big ape's true weakness was his own blind fury. Though Silver-Back was dazed beyond recovery, Dinky urged him to use his fists one more time on him. Through Silver-Back's impaired vision, he could see not one, but six Dinkies sticking their tongues out at him in unremorseful taunting. The aggravated brute gave into his rage, and gave what he thought to be Dinky Kong one firm punch in the face. Instead, he punched what was left of the pillar, and its top half came crashing down onto his head. The big brute was down for the count.

King K. Rool's jaw dropped, and Bruno leaped in exuberantly; "YES! He did it! Dinky Kong did it!! Woo-hoo-hoo!!"

Realizing that he, the little chimp that once couldn't, really did beat the bigger and badder ape, he tore off his red bandana and flung it into the air in victory, like a teenager that just graduated high school. Bruno then walked over to the fallen gorilla and carefully removed his necktie. He then turned to Dinky and proudly smiled, "Congratulations, Dinky… No. From this moment on, you'll no longer be known as 'Dinky,' but 'Donkey Kong.'" As the Koopa prince wrapped the long necktie around young Donkey Kong's neck, the little chimp took a moment to let it all sink in… "Donkey Kong." …Yes. That was a very good name. He liked it very much.

"No, _no, no, no,_ **no, no, no,** NO!!" screamed King K. Rool as he stormed down his staircase, steam coming off him as if he were a turned on stove. "I'm not gonna let this poor excuse of a gorilla take over my island. That's right, it's MY island! MINE! I'll kill you both if I have to! In fact, I think I will! GUARDS!! ……Guards?"

K. Rool turned around to see why his Kremling cronies weren't responding, and gasped in horror as they were completely surrounded by a swarm of Zingers! Somehow, Bee Mario and his team of spiky hornets had snuck into the throne room and rounded up the Kremlings before they could fight back.

"Mario!" cheered a relieved Bruno.

"Bruno?" blinked the surprised plumber. "…When did you get here?"

"…Why are you dressed up as a bee?"

"Oh, this!" Mario blushed as he realized he was still wearing a bee suit. All he had to do to shed it was to simply tug at its collar, and it disappeared in a poof. "I almost forgot I had it on. Listen, I made peace wit de Zingers! Dey wanna help free dis island from Mastermind's control."

"Excellent!" replied Bruno with a victorious fist in the air. "We'll have Donkey Kong Island back to its old self by tomorrow!" Just then he felt a small finger tap his side, and realized it was his other friend looking for attention. "Oh… Mario, I'd like you to meet my friend: the new Donkey Kong."

Mario looked down at the smallest ape he had ever seen, and cooed. "Aww. He's just a lil' guy." "They grow fast," nodded Bruno matter-of-factly. Little Donkey Kong nodded in agreement.

The trio, along with Queen B. and the Zingers, quickly surrounded King K. Rool, who was now completely powerless. "It's over, K. Rool," sneered Bruno. "You're going to have to explain to your lord and master how you failed at the hands of a small chimp."

To everyone's surprise, the crazed crocodile cracked a wily smile, and started to giggle maniacally. "..hehehehee….hehehehehehehe! Hahahahahahahaaa!! You think it's over!? Ooh, I think not you great stupid dinosaur. It's far from over! You all might have captured me, but you won't get past The Mastermind. …Oh, yes. He's here. …And he's gonna cut right through you, just like he is right now to your plumber friend! HA-hahahahahahaha!!"

Mario froze in terror, realizing that there was only one person K. Rool could be talking about. "…Oh no…"

**The Lava Pits**

Where an old worn-down factory once stood was now a ravaged field of lava pits. Somewhere in time, Kremkroc Industries, Inc. had unwittingly unleashed the power of a dormant volcano, and eventually fell into its craters. Now, all what was left were random pools of lava and earth forged from cooled magma. The Kritters, armed with spears and beating bongos, wildly dragged and pushed a hog-tied Luigi down a beaten path of this fiery wasteland, as if leading him to be sacrificed to a god. In spite of his own instincts, the green plumber kept his cool the whole time; however, that was about to change.

Once everyone stopped walking, so did the beating of the drums. They stopped at a cliff that overlooked what was left of the old factory. Someone- or some _thing_- was standing there awaiting them. Luigi was now facing a very tall figure, shadowed by volcanic light and smoking-hot air. He couldn't really make out who it was that had his back to him, but he could clearly see gigantic spikes sticking out of a turtle shell, and the tapping spiked tail like that of a Stegosaurus. As the giant figure slowly turned his head to face the captive, his Kritter followers bowed before him. He had all of the shapings of a Koopa King: the long mane, the fearsome muzzle, and of course those burning red eyes…

Luigi's heart fell to the floor in sheer terror; he knew right then and there that he was standing before The Mastermind!

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	6. Lost

The future has no certainty

**Chapter 6: "Lost"**

How the mighty had fallen. One minute, K. Rool- appointed king of the Kremlings- was basking in the glory handed over to him by The Mastermind as lord of Donkey Kong Island and the small patches of islands surrounding it. But in the next minute, he found himself dragged out of his ivory temple by his red cape by a furious small plumber, with his friends in tow.

"I told you everything I know," pleaded the defeated reptile. "Honest, I have! Now let me go!"

"Not 'til you tell us were my lil' brother is," warned Mario.

He then stopped in the middle of a sandy circle, where perhaps hundreds of Kremlings would gather regularly. K. Rool was now surrounded completely by his enemies- Mario, Bruno, and the new Donkey Kong and Zinger swarm close by. DK was now wearing his ancestors' tie, as well as his red bandana wrapped around his scalp. The Zingers leaned back and showed their stingers to K. Rool threateningly.

"He could be anywhere," gasped K. Rool as he rubbed his strained neck. "I just told them to take the prisoner to the Master, that's all."

Just then, Bruno stood over the crocodilian with his arms crossed. "And where exactly _is_ your Master?"

"I don't know!"

"Guess!" barked Mario as he tapped his foot impatiently.

K. Rool gulped, "Okay, okay… Uh, he parked his airship somewhere around here. Yes, check the airship! It should be right over there, by Lake Did-"

**FOOM!!**

Without warning, the soft sand beneath everyone's feet exploded, and a massive metal giant popped out of the earth like a geyser. The Zingers and their Queen were so startled by this that they fled the scene immediately in a frenzied panic.

Mario and his friends were knocked for a loop, while the helpless K. Rool was now right underneath the behemoth known as The Mastermind. It seemed that he was hiding right underneath their noses the whole time! While sand was still pouring down his armor, Mastermind's mighty claw fell on K. Rool, clutching him mercilessly. The crocodile gasped for air as he was being buried halfway in sand.

Bruno's eyes popped out in shock; "It's him… It's my uncle!"

"Mastermind," muttered the sand-kicked Mario.

K. Rool struggled in his master's death grip. "Nyuh… Ugh… M-Master!? Where- how…? You're just in time! Look! There they are, Master! That's who you're looking for; I've found them for you!"

Red beacons burned through the dark, iron Koopa King mask. "You disappoint me, K. Rool. Your enemies have already beaten you."

"B-b-but we can still take them!"

"_We?_ …No, you fool, there is no 'we.'"

The Kremling king gulped in terror. "…B-but… I- I've served you loyally! My Kremlings and I have guarded this island for years."

"Your Kremlings are not here. They have abandoned you."

"…No. …They wouldn't. They couldn't!"

"But they did," reassured The Mastermind. "Perhaps they've grown tired of you… as have I." With that, his grip on K. Rool began to tighten. The crocodile's breath was cut short as his life was beginning to be squeezed out of him. "Farewell, my failed experiment." With one last death grip, Mastermind had severed the Kremling king's spine in several places, and watched emotionlessly as his life force, consumed in a white light, fizzed into the air completely.

Bruno, Mario and Donkey Kong gasped in horror at the sight; they couldn't believe what they had just seen. The Mastermind had killed his own servant! Mario never felt so furious. He began to feel a fire from deep within; one so powerful, he felt like he could set himself ablaze.

The Mastermind brushed off the remaining particles of K. Rool's life force from his steel claws. Just then, he hears someone scream, "YOU!" Curiously, he looked up, and saw a small red blur speeding his way. It was Mario, charging at the speed of a Bullet Bill. The plumber threw a few mad punches at the Koopa-shaped centaur before making a Super Jump in the air.

"Face, meet my FOOT!"

Mario's boot pounded the very forehead of Mastermind's iron mask, but it had no effect other than breaking Mario's Gravity Boot. He fell clumsily to the ground, reeling in pain.

Amused, The Mastermind smiled from within his mask. "Do that again. It tickled."

The little red plumber growled as he tried to get back up, but to his surprise, Bruno stepped forward. "Uncle Brutus, stop this! You've gone way too far!"

There was a small, awkward pause between them. The metal behemoth mused softly, "Hmmm. Brutus. No one's called me that in a long time."

As Mario paused in awe at the sound of the Mastermind's real name, Bruno shielded him with his broad body. "You have to stop, uncle. All this death and destruction is meaningless."

Mastermind's claws clenched. "That just shows how little you know, Bruno. The glory of conquest is what makes us Koopas strong. It's what makes us what we are."

"You' nothin' but a monster!" called out Mario, who stepped out of Bruno's shadow. "You do wat Bruno says, or you're gonna git hurt! Git outta here… And gimmie back my brother!"

Hot smoke puffed through Mastermind's nostrils. "…You're brother? …Oh yes, the green one. …I believe he's dead."

Mario's face flushed white upon hearing those words. Seeing him in such a state of shock amused the cold-hearted Mastermind. He giggled, "Yes, he _must_ have met his end by now. He looked so weak. So… incompetent. Heh-heh-heh-heh…"

"ORA MORITE!" screamed the plumber, whose face was now as red as his shirt and cap. Once again, he charged the metal beast as if his previous failure never happened. Mastermind saw him coming this time, and countered Mario's charge with a quick and heavy swipe of his grey tail. The impact knocked Mario clean into the forest; his landing was unseen, but heard from a distance.

Bruno's fists clenched vengefully at Mastermind. "You'll pay for this, uncle. When I find my father, he'll-"

"Oh yes, your father. I nearly forgot about him," mused The Mastermind. "When you do find him, Bruno, remember to give him this little present from me." The Mastermind's shell then split open, and dozens of tiny machines flew from it, like bees exiting a hive. Bruno recognized them instantly; they were packets of mind-bending headbands! He quickly grabbed young Donkey Kong and retreated to the forest, as the swarm of magnetic packets followed them.

"Run while you can, my dear nephew!" laughed The Mastermind. "You won't get far; this is an island, after all! **Hahahahahahaha**!" Just then, he noticed somebody crawling out of the temple in humble defeat. It was Silver-Back, still bruised up by his self-inflicted wounds. Mastermind glared at him with instant interest. "You there!" he pointed to the ape. "…I have a proposition for you."

**Mushroom Kingdom**

Princess Cherry paced back and forth in her throne room with anxiety written all over her face. Her fiancé Bruno hadn't contacted her in over three hours, and the sunlight was quickly disappearing in the sky. Something in her stomach was telling her that something was going wrong.

As she walked laps across the room, her oldest of advisors, Jeebs, sat comfortably in a small chair next to the royal throne. The elderly Toad stroked his long white beard while lost in deep thought. "I'm sure Bruno's much too busy to phone us," was his conclusion.

The princess sighed despondently. "It's not that, Jeebs. Something's happened, I can feel it… Something really bad is happening over there. …I should have gone with him."

"Nonsense," frowned Jeebs. "Your place is here, princess. Besides, the jungle is no place for a lady like yourself."

Cherry paused with a grimace. "I'm not helpless, Jeebs. I can take care of myself."

Her advisor cooed, "Oh, I meant nothing by it, your highness. I know you've got the blood of heroes in you. I was just…"

"I know, Jeebs. I know," Cherry replied with a tone of guilt in her voice. "I just wish I could do more than just sit around here all day."

Sitting around all day was a task someone else in that room was growing tired of. Silently and secretly, the Spy Guy camera peered through a crack in the south wall. Its single eye stared blankly at the young princess, waiting ever so patiently for a change in action, or at least for a command from its far off Master. But neither came, and the small camera with the thin spider legs was beginning to wonder if it was serving its purpose at all. Perhaps if it zoomed in on Princess Cherry, things would change.

_Zi-i-i-i-ip!_

Though the zooming camera was as small as a mouse, its sound was the only one in the room at the time, and the princess' ears picked it up with uncanny accuracy.

"What was that?" she gasped, tilting her head toward the south wall. "What was what?" blinked the elderly Toad. Cherry scanned the walls, but saw nothing. "…I thought I heard something. …Nevermind, it was just my imagination."

The Spy Guy curled into the back of the wall just in time; that was a close one! It was beginning to wonder just how much longer this charade could go on, before its jig was finally up.

**The Kongo**

Separated from his friends, the young Donkey Kong swung through the trees like a pro in a desperate search for a familiar face. The little chimp nearly tripped on his own necktie as he perched himself on a bare tree branch which overlooked an open field- the first he had seen since he ran screaming from Mastermind's brain-warpers. A quick glance around, and he finally spotted what- or rather, who- he was looking for.

A small red plumber lay physically beaten and spiritually broken by a lake, his footwear reduced to his original brown shoes. He sobbed pitifully, mourning the loss of his would-be twin brother. Mario had never before been defeated so quickly, and so painfully. Surely, if _he_ couldn't withstand a single blow from The Mastermind, then Luigi… No. He couldn't bear the thought of it.

Mario's grief was shattered by a simple tap on the head by a curious little ape. "Wah!" he gasped as he jumped to his feet. He soon realized that it was little Donkey Kong that suddenly appeared by his side. "…Oh. It's you." He didn't sound all too happy to see the little chimp, which hurt DK's feelings a bit.

"Wah-ah-ah-ah-ahh?" chirped the little ape, hopping and pointing to his own face.

Mario got the message. "What'm I doing?" he replied while softly rubbing his nose. "Oh… you wouldn't understand."

"Ee-ee-eeh?"

"No, I'm not hurt… Not really…"

DK wasn't getting any real answers, which started to frustrate him. He nudged at Mario's shoes as if trying to encourage him to move. "Eee! Eee! Eee!"

"Git off me, ya lil' furball!" the plumber backed up defensively. "You know, you' not de only one who lost somet'ing today. …I lost my lil' brother."

DK scratched his head. "Oo-ah-ah?"

"You didn't know I had a brother, did you? …Did you see a taller guy around here wit a green cap on, who kinda look-alike me?"

DK shook his head. "Oh-oh-oh-oh."

"No? …Didn't think so. …I've no idea where 'e is, or… or if 'e's even alive." Mario hung his head in mourning again. This time, the little chimp looked like he understood.

Then, DK had an idea. He grabbed onto Mario's pant leg and started to pull at it excitedly. "'Ey! What're you doing?" yelped the confused plumber. "Git off, you' gonna tear it!" But he couldn't stop the young ape's pulling, as he noticed DK's growing excitement. "Ah! Ah! Ah! AH!"

"…You wanna go somewhere?"

DK nodded, "Eee! Eee! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"…An' you want me ta come with you?"

Again, DK nodded. "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Mario scratched his head and sighed. "…Okay, fine. It's your island; you might as well lead." Reluctantly, Mario urged himself to finally walk, as he followed the young chimp into the wooded forest again. At this point, he was willing to go just about anywhere, so long as he could find a clue to finding Luigi.

**Meanwhile…**

While inside his enormous airship, which had three different colored monstrous heads at the helm, The Mastermind was placing the anesthesia-induced Silver-Back into a cocoon-like pod. A small computer screen popped up from the top of the pod, and Mastermind's nimble fingers fiddled away at its buttons.

"Soon, my friend, you will be a shadow of your former self; a vast improvement awaits you. Heh-heh-heh…"

Without warning, a red alert blinked on his main left arm. Mastermind was only partially startled by this; he knew it meant that something was amiss elsewhere. He carefully lifted a lid on his arm, which unfolded a very small computer screen. "Hmmm," he hummed in curiosity. "It's coming from Mushroom Kingdom." He pushed the small screen's one and only button. "Yes?"

"_Master,"_ replied a voice through a small radio signal from within the arm. _"It's me, Spy Guy. The princess has become aware of my presence here. What should I do?"_

Mastermind rubbed the chin of his iron mask. "Ah… I knew this day would come sooner or later. There is nothing I need from that castle, except perhaps some data on these Mario Brothers."

"_Sir?"_

"There must be some kind of archive of their past hidden somewhere. Find it and bring it to me."

"_Yes, Master. …And what of the princess?"_

"She means nothing to me. If she gets in your way, kill her."

"_Yes, Master."_ Then the signal fizzed out.

Mastermind paused to think out loud. "A shame the princess had to live such a short life. Oh well, there was only room for one ruler anyway…"

**The Bad Lands**

Somewhere between the deepest part of the jungle and the treacherous lava pits sat The Bad Lands; an earthquake-ravaged Serengeti where steep rocky hills came up and out like fangs from the ground. Hardly anyone set foot here due to the wickedly humid climate and lack of edible vegetation. Therefore, it was the perfect hiding place.

Young Donkey Kong, formerly known as Dinky, led Mario to this forbidden land. They stopped at the foot of one particular cave; Mario allowed DK to enter it first while he stayed outside to make sure it was safe. Even after a wave of small bat creatures called Flip Flaps shot out of the cave, Mario was still willing to enter. He knew the little ape wouldn't lead him to just anywhere. When DK peeked outside and nodded, that was Mario's cue to enter.

As Mario carefully and slowly entered the cave, he pulled out a small flashlight he picked up from the Stuffwell and navigated his way through the dark cavern with it. He soon realized that the cave had levels, all twisting and turning further into the ground. He learned the hard way, when he slipped and lost his footing and tumbled down a long slide of soft rock. He landed safely on leaves of palm, much to his surprise. But the next surprise would be even bigger.

No longer would he need the flashlight, for the lowest of these caverns came with its own torch lights on the walls. This was a secret dwelling, full of brown apes! They, ranging from infant to elder, walked in steady military lines, capped with mining helmets. The older ones pushed heavy crates of unearthed rock, while the younger ones dug through the walls with pickaxes made of ivory and wood. Mario was stunned at how robotic they seemed to be; not one ape flinched or peeped at his presence. It was almost like they were in a trance.

DK, who had found his way down the mine before him, looked up at the plumber with sad eyes. "I see," frowned Mario. "Dis is-a your family?" The little ape nodded. "So… Do they all work for De Mastermind now?" Again, the little ape nodded. Clearly, these great apes had all been rounded up by Mastermind's minions and put to work shortly after his rise to power. All were captured, except one; and that's why he, one of the youngest of gorillas, was the only eligible candidate for the Donkey Kong role.

"Well," said Mario as he cracked his knuckles, "Dere's only one thing ta do about dis." He bravely marched up to a big male ape hauling a mine cart, who didn't have the will to even notice him, tipped off his hat which hid the brain-bender on his brow, and quickly yanked it off. In an instant, the cranky gorilla roared in surprise. "RAH! …Rah?" He then gasped as he rubbed his now bare forehead, not knowing where he was or what he was doing.

"Hi," waved a small human by his side. "I'm-a Mario. Dis is-a Donkey Kong, and we're all in a mine."

"Oo-oo-ah?" The big ape scratched his head curiously.

"You gotta help us free your friends, capire?"

After taking a moment to look around, the big ape nodded. "Oo! Oo! Oo-ah-ah-ah!"

It wouldn't take long for the domino effect to work; the more apes that were freed meant the more help was given to those who freed the others. The man, whose ancestors were made famous for their rivalries with big apes, soon found himself cheered as a hero among them. And of course, little Donkey Kong took part of the credit for himself.

Mario and his little ape friend were led to an exit tunnel, which opened up to another section of the Bad Lands. In the distance, Mario could see a wall of mist before a red and orange backdrop. What appeared to be mountains at first were revealed to be towers of a long-forgotten city: Kremkroc Industries!

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" sighed the little plumber, as he recognized the fallen city in the distance. "You mean ta tell me you guys were working on fixing de old Kremling city?" One of the big apes shrugged; how was he to know he was working for the enemy? "It makes no sense," said Mario doubtfully. "Why would-a Mastermind waste his time on a place like dat? Doesn't he have enough of dis island already?"

"Nothing is enough for The Mastermind!" came a familiar voice all of a sudden.

Mario's blood ran cold as he recognized the voice of Bruno, while at the same time picking up on its harshness. As he and the apes turned around, they could see the young Koopa prince standing atop the cave entrance, with strange cyborg creatures by his side. He stared down at Mario and company with a dirty look his ancestor King Bowser would have given, while a brain-bender headband shimmered on his forehead.

"Aw Bruno, no!" gasped Mario.

"Cy-Birdos, attack!"

His company, pink Birdos with metallic-purple heads, hands and tails, slid down the rock formation on command. From their nozzle-like snouts, they launched an array of egg-shaped cannonballs, called egg-renades, which exploded on impact. Their frenzied attack made most of the apes take cover, while Mario and a brave few- DK included- stood their ground.

"Quick, we need somethin' ta throw back at 'em!" Mario declared.

"Oo! Oo!" bellowed the first ape he rescued, as he picked up a rather large boulder and threw it like a football toward the Cy-Birdos. It collided with an egg-renade, but only the Cy-Birdos would feel the full force of debris.

"Get up, you numbskulls!" roared Bruno. "Get up and fight back!"

Mario, trying to come up with a plan, signaled to his ape allies, "You keep 'em busy, I'll get da main guy." The big apes nodded, and picked up more rocks to throw.

With egg-renades and rocks shooting in all directions, Bruno was easily distracted. He wouldn't notice that a small man would come sneaking up from behind him thanks to a slope in the back of the cave entrance. Mario tried to grab his tail, but slipped. This gave Bruno a chance to realize his disadvantage and turn around. Seeing his enemy up close, the Koopa prince reacted as any Koopa his size would: He hurled a breath of fire at Mario!

"Yah-ah!" yipped Mario, jumping out of the way just barely in time. As his pants were nearly singed, he realized that it had been a long time since his last encounter with such a large Koopa! Bruno then stomped around, trying to shake the earth underneath the plumber. Mario seemed to slide down the steep end of the cave's top, but actually this was part of his strategy. Once Bruno thought he had gotten the better of his opponent, he turned back to face the battle on the ground. A costly mistake.

Mario once again scrambled up the cliff while Bruno was distracted, and this time when he reached for Bruno's tail, he got it. "Sorry Bruno," he muttered, "but dis is fer your own good." With Herculean strength, the little plumber yanked Bruno by the tail, and began to twirl him, faster and faster, until he became weightless. Once Mario had enough leverage, he let go of Bruno and sent him flying. He would land hard on his head, some feet away, smashing his mind-bending headband to pieces.

Almost as soon as Mario's battle was over, so was the one fought on the ground. Compared to the strength and number of the gorilla troop, the Cy-Birdos were pushovers. Perhaps this would not have been such an easy victory, had Mario not stumbled upon the captive apes. He giggled as the victorious gorillas wound up the tails of the Cy-Birdos and watched them walking into each other like brainless toy soldiers.

Mario still stood atop the cave's opening, never realizing that he had been watched by native Kritters from the tall grass just a short distance away. While he was distracted by the celebrating apes, something sharp pierced his neck. It was a poison needle, shot by a blow gun from a hidden Kritter. All at once, the plumber felt light headed and tired, and passed out almost instantly. The apes continued to celebrate their victory while their savior was secretly stolen away.

**Mushroom Kingdom**

Jeebs was cheerfully dusting the big round table in the royal conference room while humming to himself, when he heard the strangest sound. It sounded like the tapping of little feet running across the hallway. Had the door not been opened, he might not have heard it at all. Curiosity struck him, and he completely abandoned his chores. As he snuck a peek through the doorway, he could see the shadow of an unfamiliar creature darting into the study room several feet away. While not as alarmed as he should have been, the elderly Toad made quick and quiet steps toward the study.

Spy Guy, who up until now was just a tiny camera, had grown into a long spider-legged camera that was about the size of Princess Cherry herself. He scanned the walls of books in the study, which looked very much like a small library, hoping to find anything on the mysterious "Mario Brothers." With his X-ray vision, he could pick up on the subject matter of each book without even lifting a metallic finger. Unfortunately for him, nothing in this room even mentioned the name "Mario." Or perhaps some did, and he just didn't reach them in time, for his search was soon interrupted.

"You there! Who are you?" Jeebs demanded to know, aiming his cane at the robot.

Spy Guy lunged at him without a moment of hesitation, and pinned the Toad down with his spider legs. As Jeebs struggled, Spy Guy spoke with a low and harsh voice: "Where do you keep your records on the Mario Brothers?"

"Ugh… I… beg your pardon?" gasped Jeebs.

"Where are those records!?" the robot growled louder.

"I don't know what you mean," Jeebs shook his head, showing hardly any sign of fear. "Please, I… I can't breathe with you leaning on me like this."

"Give me what I'm looking for, and I may let you live."

"The… The Mario Brothers," Jeebs replied with a struggling breath, "are only recorded through legends. We… have no documents… on them."

"You lie."

"No, you- you don't understand… They only wanted to be remembered, not idolized." Jeebs could see that the robot was raising another leg at him; this one was as sharp as a blade, and it was aiming for his chest. "I've told you all that I know, I swear."

"I don't believe you. Perhaps I should ask the princess." Before Jeebs could protest, Spy Guy's form morphed into that of a fully-metal Shy Guy, with red eyes and the camera lens firmly placed on the brow of his mask. Other than being fully metallic, this particular Guy was also armed with a katana, and he had threads on all four limbs. It was as if he was designed to be a ninja.

He grabbed Jeebs and took off like a bullet, from the study and through the hall and into the courtyard outside. It was just at the time Cherry was watering her favorite flowers; when Spy Guy came upon her, she dropped her water pot like a rock. She watched in horror as Spy Guy's spider legs appeared from his back and acted as ropes to tie up Jeebs. Spy Guy held him up as high as he could and growled, "I have no time for introductions, so I'll cut right to the chase! I'll make you a trade: All data on the Mario Brothers for his life."

Cherry was at a complete loss; she stood there with her mouth gaping as Jeebs struggled to say, "Don't worry about me, your highness. I'll be alright." "No," replied Spy Guy, "he won't." And with that, his steel roped squeezed Jeebs even tighter.

"Stop!" gasped Cherry. "I'll give you anything you want, just let him go!"

"Your knowledge of the Mario Brothers is what I require," replied the robotic ninja.

Cherry paused to breathe, then nodded slowly. "Alright… Let's see… Mario is the clone of my great-grandfather, and Luigi is the clone of my great uncle."

"Go on."

"They're Italian… uh, they both love… mushrooms, and pizza, and-"

"What are their weaknesses?"

"Uhh… I… I don't know."

Spy Guy put an even harder squeeze on Jeebs. "My patience is waning thin, princess. Talk, or he dies."

"Uh-wha-w-weaknesses… Weaknesses…"

Jeebs used up what little strength he had left to blurt out, "Don't tell him anything, princess." Spy Guy then drew his katana and rested its sharp end on Jeebs' throat.

"No! Wait!" Cherry gasped. "…M-Mario has fire power, and Luigi's is lightning!"

"…Explain," cooed Spy Guy, whose temper was now cooled.

Cherry sighed, "Mario has what's called Fire Hand. He can only use it when he has enough energy, or when he touches a certain Power Item. And Luigi, he does the same thing, only with Lightning. …That's all I know, I swear. Please, let Jeebs go."

"…Perhaps this information will appease my Master for now," said Spy Guy monotonously, as his grip on Jeebs began to slowly soften. He let the small Toad fall hard to the ground, but kept by his side. Cherry dared to take a few steps toward her dearest friend, only to stop in her tracks as Spy Guy's katana fell on Jeebs' torso.

"NO!" she screamed.

Spy Guy pulled back his sword and aimed it at her briefly; white spots of light dripped from it, proving the stab to be fatal. "This was just a warning, princess," he hissed viciously. "I will soon return; and when I do, you had better get your records ready. Or there will be more Toads to grieve over next time." The robotic ninja's back opened up, and a pair of jet wings unfolded. With their rocket power, he zoomed into the sky and disappeared in a flash.

Cherry dropped to her knees by Jeebs' side; he maintained his peacefulness while his torso bled out white light of pure energy. "Oh, Jeebs," she sniffed as tears started to fill her eyes. "Why? …How could they…?" The elderly Toad's beard and mustache curled as he smiled, "Now, now princess… cough, cough …Don't you worry about little ol' me. I'm… just fine."

"No you're not. I need to get you into the infirmary and fast."

"Please, Cherry… Don't waste your time… or your tears… on me. …I was always prepared to… to die for you…"

"Jeebs, don't."

"I must say… Try to keep your hopes up, my dear one. Always… always know that things will get better… cough, cough, cough"

She sniffled. "Please… please don't leave me like this, Jeebs. …Please don't."

"I'll… never leave you, Cherry… But… I do have one special request… That metal chap with the sword… If he ever comes back… give him one for me. …Ugh…"

Despite his protest against it, Cherry couldn't help but sob and cry her eyes out, as her oldest and dearest guardian faded into white heavenly light, which soon disappeared into nothingness. She was now all alone in the garden, but it was the very first time in her young life that Princess Cherry truly felt alone.

**Somewhere in the Bad Lands**

This was not Mario's day. After sleeping for countless hours, he awoke with a huge headache and groggy limbs. At first he only saw darkness, but his eyes soon adjusted to see that he was in a bamboo cage. The cage itself was part of an underground dungeon, with no windows to show whether it was night or day. Only a few lit torches on the stone-carved walls gave what little light there was.

"Mama mia…" groaned Mario as he came to. "…Where am I? …Wat happened?" He looked around, and saw that he was all alone, with a pile of old rags piled in the corner. "Oh… Dis is just great," he moaned softly. "First I lose Luigi, den I lose Bruno, now I'm-a stuck in dis place. Can my luck get any worse? …Watsa matta wit me? I'm-a talkin' to a pile of… whatever dat is over dere. Probably some poor dead animal. Musta starved t'death while stuck here… Oh no. Wat if I starve in here? Who's-a gonna stop Mastermind? Who's-a gonna save de world?"

"Mario?"

"Not now, Luigi, I'm-a talkin' t'myself. Who's-a gonna take care of de princess while I'm-a gone? Who's-a gonna look after de Toads, an' de apes, an de... Weegie?"

"Yeah?" peeped the man wrapped up in the pile of rags, using them for a blanket.

Mario sat there beside himself, coming to terms with the fact that his little brother was there beside him in the cage all along! He had found him at last! "LUIGI!" he screamed with joy, jumping to his feet. "Thank God, you're safe!" Luigi giggled with delight as he welcomed a long-awaited hug.

"…Wat happened to you, fratellino?"

"Well," Luigi began, "I made it to de place where King Rool was- oh an' by de way, you owe me a dinner!"

"Oh. Heh, right…"

"Anyway, dis big gray gorilla fought me dere, an' I gave it my best shot but he beat me. Den de Kritters tied me up and took me on dis long walk through de valley, an we stopped at some lava pits. An oh, fratello, you will not believe who I ran into there…!"

_Those long shell pikes. That long slender Stegosaurus tail. Those curvy bull horns. Those burning red eyes. Surely, Luigi was starting right at his worst enemy, as well as his worst nightmare: The Mastermind!_

_Kritters dressed in grass skirts and white war paint genuflected before the beast standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the devastation of Kremkroc Industries. This reptilian, shadowed by the light of molten hot lava, was their one true king. Luigi, bound in hog ties, couldn't help but shiver as a cold sweat trickled down his neck. This was to be his end… or was it?_

_The huge Koopa standing before him slowly turned around; he had to move slowly, because he had aged so much that he needed a cane to support himself. His horns were like that of a Mecha-Koopa, the biggest and toughest type of all Koopas. But there was something profoundly different about this one. His mane, pulled back in a ponytail, was long and silvery white, and he had a small goatee on his yellow chin to match it. His eyes, though red, were wrinkled and weary. He was slightly hunched over as he stood to face his captive. …This was not the Mastermind after all. It was a Koopa indeed, but one of flesh and blood. …Very _old_ flesh and blood, at that._

_The elderly Koopa slinked over to Luigi to examine him carefully. He went as far as taking in deep sniffs to sample the human's scent. He then leaned over and squinted his eyes, as if his sight was beginning to fail him._

"…_Wait a minute," growled the old one, in a deep voice that seemed strangely familiar to Luigi. "…He's not this tall. …And he doesn't wear green." The old Koopa turned to the Kremlings angrily. "Who is this man!?"_

"_Akka-pango eechie-amma-yata koogaburra-pokko," said the ring leader while still kneeling before his lord._

_The old Koopa moaned in frustration as he palmed his face. "Nincom-Koops! You've brought me the wrong plumber!"_

_The Kritter chief seemed confused. "…Akka-panga?"_

"_There are two of them, numbskulls. The one I want is shorter and wears a _red_ shirt; THIS is his no account, incompetent brother!" As he said these harsh words, the old Koopa poked his cane at Luigi's side._

"_Hey," muttered an insulted Luigi._

_The oversized Koopa then turned his back on Luigi and snorted, "Take this one to the dungeon. He's of no use to me." "Akka-pakka," replied the Kritters. They quickly got to their feet, snatched up Luigi, and pulled him away from their lord. _

_As they crawled away, they heard him scream, "AND DON'T COME BACK WITHOUT THE _RED_ PLUMBER!" "AKKA!" they yipped in fear._

"…And that's how I ended up here," Luigi concluded.

Mario paused to think deeply about Luigi's description of the elder Koopa. "Hmm… Big green Koopa, huh? You don't think… Bowser?"

Luigi shook his head. "Naw. Bowser died a long time ago, fratello. But dis guy did look strangely familiar. I musta seen 'im before. …Wait. The ponytail! That's it! He musta be Bowser de Younger!"

"Or Bowser Junior, if you prefer," came that same husky old voice from behind the bars. The plumbers looked in awe at the sight of the elder Koopa; sure enough, he truly was Junior, the son of the old Bowser their clone counterparts once battled against!

"Junior!" gasped Mario. "Lookit you! You must be wat, forty years old? …Fifty?"

"A hundred and twelve, to be precise," replied the Koopa King.

"Wow," awed Luigi. "…You lookin' good for your age!"

"Hmm," hummed the old king, trying to take the compliment. "…I didn't really come here to reminisce. For two years now I've been living in exile, moving from place to place before my evil brother could find and brainwash me. But when rumors of the Mario Brothers returning reached my ears, I had to act upon it. So I've teamed up with these Kritters, who are part of an ancient race that broke off of the Kremling Krew decades ago, in hopes to find you."

"Why wouldn't you try an' save your son Bruno?" Mario couldn't help but ask.

The Koopa King replied, "I knew that as long as I was alive, my brother wouldn't dare harm my son. He's nowhere near as much a threat to him as I am."

"But he's been-a captured. I saw him git brainwashed," frowned Mario.

The Koopa King's eyes flared. "You… He… What!?" Junior paused to let his thoughts sink in, then with newfound rage he growled, "We don't have much time. Mario, you must help me find my son and get him back to us."

"Wat about me?" peeped Luigi, pointing to himself as if feeling left out. "Can' I help?"

Junior gave him a dirty look. "You? All the good you've done was get yourself caught."

Mario shielded his brother and barked, "'Ey! You dunno my fratellino; he's as good a fighter as anybody!"

Junior raised an eyebrow. "Your fratta-what?"

"Fratellino," Mario explained. "It mean lil' brother."

"Fine, whatever." Junior puffed impatiently. "You can bring your, uh… fratta-lean-o… with you. But you better be right about him; we'll need all the help we can get if we're going to take the K.S. Devastator."

"The wha?" frowned the Mario's in unison.

Junior explained quickly, "The K.S. Devastator. It's the Mastermind's prized airship. He uses it all the time, so it must be here. If we take it, we can use it to storm the Dark Castle, and hopefully put an end to his madness once and for all. …So, are you with me or not?"

"Let us outta here first, den we'll be wit you," narrowed Mario's eyes.

"Oh, of course. Captain!!" Junior's roar was quickly responded to by a small troop of Kritters, one armed with a spear. "Release them," commanded their king. With one swift blow of his spear, the captain of the Kritter party sliced the bamboo cage's door wide open. As the plumbers marched toward freedom, Junior said to the spear-armed Kritter, "Captain, take your troops to the Kongo and find that airship. Hide there until your combat skills are needed. Now go!"

The ring leader of the Kritter savages turned to face his look-alikes, and with his spear thrust in the air he yelled, "Akka-panga pokko!" "POKKO!" they yelled in reply, and together they ran off in a mad dash.

Luigi furrowed his brows. "…Are dose de only words dey know?"

Junior grimaced at the comment as he watched the crocodiles take off. "Yeah. Pretty much. So… are you two ready for some payback?"

Mario cracked his knuckles with enthusiasm. "Let's-a go."

**Diddy Kong Lake**

"Fire and thunder, eh?" mused Mastermind while talking through his radio attachment.

"_That's what they said,"_ responded the voice of Spy Guy. _"But I still think they're hiding something, Master. Shall I stick around for a while?"_

"Keep those fools busy, Spy Guy. I'll get there soon enough, and when I do I'll be ready for a complete takeover of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"_Yes, Master. Spy Guy out."_

Mastermind stood quietly on the deck of his airship, which nestled peacefully by the large banana-shaped lake. The sun had gone down, and the K.S. Devastator was literally glowing with anticipation. At the front of it was a mast made up of three gigantic heads, shaped like dinosaurs of some sort. They would be his secret weapon.

"I'll just set my ship's masts to 'Bonechill' mode; that should stop those plumbers from using their elements against me." With the same arm he used to communicate with Spy Guy via radio, The Mastermind started to push a new set of buttons. Within moments, the eyes of the three-headed mast of his airship flashed blue lights.

As the Mastermind waited patiently for his enemies to arrive, a set of Kritters in grass skirts and war painted faces lied in ambush in tall grass. They weren't alone; the Zinger swarm, along with their Queen, were also lying in wait- only they hid in the trees instead of the grass. Everything was in place for a perfect ambush; all that was needed was for someone to make the first move. That someone would be DK and his gorilla troops, marching confidently through the Kongo with drums beating.

Mastermind turned his head slightly toward the sight of torches beaming through the forest. "What's this?" he mused softly to himself. "…Are they guerillas, or simply gorillas? Hmm-hmm-hmmph."

What The Mastermind didn't know was that these apes were armed with newly reprogrammed Cy-Birdos, which they held like guns under their arms. Little Donkey Kong led the march, armed with a long bamboo stick. He stopped them by the lake's edge, across from the menacing airship. The bold little ape then waved his stick around and screamed loudly for the whole Komgo to hear. He declared war.

"Cannon-Bills," commanded Mastermind, "launch!"

From the sides of the airship sprouted cannons, aiming toward the gorillas. They spat out round balls with Bullet Bill faces, and proved to be twice as fast as any normal Bullet Bill could. But the apes were ready; they held up their Cy-Birdos and cranked their tails like Jack-in-the-Box pedals. The Cy-Birdos responded with their own egg-renades, which canceled out the Cannon-Bills in mid-air.

That's when the Zingers decided to attack. Queen B. flushed red with rage and led her team in a collective dive bomb toward The Mastermind himself. Caught off guard, The Mastermind roared and swatted at them with all of his duplicate cybernetic limbs.

"AKKA-POKKO!" screamed the captain of the Kritters. With spears in hand, they all jumped into the lake and swam toward the K.S. Devastator.

"Army-Dillos!" responded Mastermind quickly; on cue, a set of robotic armadillos charged from the cabin of the ship and met with their master on deck. They leapt from the side of the deck and curled into cannon balls before launching themselves into the water.

From the opposite side of the attacks sat King Junior and the Mario Brothers, watching closely for The Mastermind to turn his back to them. "Now's our chance," whispered Junior, who was armed with a spiked mace. "Charge!" "Otteniamoli!!" cried out the charging plumbers, armed with nothing more than their wits.

While The Mastermind was still swatting Zingers like flies, the corner of his red eye picked up on the shadow of a Koopa. He turned his head, and saw King Junior running straight for the airship. While he seemed to be prepared for everything else, this took him completely by surprise. "No… it can't be." But it was.

"Brutus!!" roared the Mecha-Koopa, waving his mace in the air. "Your madness ends now!"

The Mario's would have beaten him to the ship, but just as they were ready to Super-Jump onto the deck, a blast of icy wind stopped them in their tracks. Mario and Luigi, already half-frozen, paused in shock. Three huge blue heads reared themselves from the ship's mast. They, exact copies of an old nemesis called "Bonechill," stared the plumbers down with icy blue eyes. They locked their vision on the little humans, and would not- could not- take their eyes off them. The Bonechills, their necks made of chains, lunged at their prey.

Luigi managed to Super-Jump out of the way, but not Mario; he took the full force of one Bonechill head that plowed into him. While nearly flattened on the Bonechill's face, Mario desperately grabbed onto it and summoned a small burst of flames from his hands. "FIRE!" But all that did was make the Bonechill angry and puff icy breath on the plumber. Mario fell to the ground with ice crystals all over him.

"Hang on, bro!" called Luigi from the edge of the ship's deck. He aimed his pointer fingers like guns at the center Bonechill head and summoned up, "Thunder Hand!!" While a pure lightning bolt shot out from Luigi's fingers to the Bonechill head, all it felt like was a small static shock to the robot. "Not even a dent!?" gasped the green plumber, before the other two Bonechill heads rose up to meet him on deck. A quick Super-Jump was enough to dodge their chomping jaws.

Back on solid ground, Luigi landed safely next to Mario, who was still frozen. With some static still flickering from his fingers, Luigi needed only to touch Mario's shoulder to shock him back into coherence. "Wah!!" shouted Mario as he revived. "We need a new plan, bro," frowned Luigi as he watched the Bonechill heads regrouping toward them.

Mario took a deep breath and plotted, "You go dis way, I'll go dat way. We'll meet in de middle."

"Right… Which way?"

"You go left."

"Right."

"No, left!"

"Dat's wat I said."

"You said right."

"No, _you_ go right. Right?"

"Left! …No, wait. …RUN!"

The boys took off in separate directions just as the Bonechills closed in on them. Luigi jumped on top of the center Bonechill, hoping to catch the attention of one of the other two. It worked; the Bonechill of the far left shot spear-shaped ice crystals at him. He jumped out of the way, and the center head he stood on took part of the shots. Though it was slightly dazed, it wasn't quite out of commission yet.

Mario ran all the way around the ship as the Bonechill of the far right was in hot pursuit. Though he couldn't jump as high as Luigi, he did manage to dodge one ice spear after another. One of the spears, in fact, cut across the lake and pulverized one of the apes on shore. This made DK and his troops all the angrier, and they charged straight into the lake to finish what they had started.

Meanwhile, Mario's improvised plan started to take shape, as he came around the ship from one direction and Luigi from the other. They waited until they were right in each other's faces before Luigi grabbed his brothers' hands and Super-Jumped out of the way. This forced the Bonechills to collide with each other, and when they did, they went down like trucks on a highway.

Standing on the edge of the ship's deck, the Mario brothers stood and watched as their ally, King Bowser Junior, had already scaled up the ship and faced off against The Mastermind. The two Koopa brothers had engaged in a one-on-one battle between spiked mace and steel fist, neither one letting up or even breaking a sweat.

"Thought I was dead, didn't you Brutus?" hissed the flesh-and-blood Koopa.

"I hoped for your sake that you were," replied the metallic one. "That way, you wouldn't have to suffer anymore."

"I've suffered long enough; it's your turn now!" Junior swatted at Mastermind's head, but the bigger Koopa was more agile than he looked. Mastermind then swished his tail around and maneuvered it to curl under Junior's feet. As he fell over, Mastermind grinned. "You once told me that a true Koopa uses his tail. Thanks for the advice, brother."

"Hey you!" called out Mario. "How 'bout you try a little some o'this: Fire Hand!" "Thunder Hand!" echoed Luigi, as both of them fired waves of fireballs and thunderbolts at The Mastermind. The huge metallic Koopa was quick to shield himself with his shell, which took the full force of their attacks with barely a scratch. "And they called you legends," he mocked them.

Junior, still mad with rage, got back on his feet steadily before roaring loudly. "RAWR!! You're fight is with me, you back-stabbing traitor!" He and The Mastermind locked claws and began to wrestle, forgetting about the Mario Brothers.

Mario was ready to hit The Mastermind with another fireball, but Luigi stopped him by tapping his shoulder. Curious, Mario paused to see what made Luigi so suddenly nervous. The green one pointed behind them; the three Bonechill heads were back, and staring them down for one last attack! Luigi was ready to jump, but Mario tugged at his pant strap. The red one nodded to his brother, letting him know that he had another plan. They waited for the Bonechills to recharge their energy and open up their toothy jaws. Luigi started to sweat fearfully as he saw their ice breath grow bigger and bigger. "Steady," Mario reassured him. "Wait for it…" The ice breath started to form one big cyclone of ice, poised to explode on them.

"Wait for it… Wait for it! …NOW!"

With one huge jump, the Mario's dodged the Bonechill blizzard, of which The Mastermind was now in firing range of. Junior had seen it coming, and made sure his brother was in its path, and so he shoved him with all his might toward the blizzard's blast. Not even The Mastermind himself, who seemed so indestructible, could resist such a fate as being incased in crystal.

Nearing the end of the battle, the Zingers, apes and Kritters joined forces to defeat what remained of The Mastermind's army. The ship was theirs. And just when the Bonechills were ready to attack the Mario brothers again, they were suddenly pulled down by their chain necks by an unknown source. Mario, Luigi and Junior peeked over the edge to see who it was that had the Bonechills subdued so suddenly. To their surprise, it was Bruno! Somehow, after losing his brain-jacking headband, he had found his way to this place. With the Bonechills' necks in his grasp, he reached for the control buttons on the back of each of their heads, and switched them off. They reverted into lifeless ship masts.

Once Bruno climbed aboard, he joined forces with his father and the Mario brothers to push the incased Mastermind off the ship. He fell like a rock onto the lakeshore, where the jungle allies cheered and danced around him victoriously.

"It won't be long until he gets out of that ice," frowned Junior. "Let's get out of here while we have the chance."

"But father," asked Bruno, "why don't we just finish him off?"

"You don't know him like I do, son. He'll find a way to break that ice, and when he does, he'll be plenty mad."

Luigi had taken hold of the ship's steering wheel as the Koopa family talked, and smiled, "Where to next, boys?"

"To Dinosaur Island," commanded Junior. "We'll take it back and have our whole Koopa army on our side once again."

"Well said, father!" Bruno balled his fist as he cheered. "…It's so good to have you back again." Junior smiled warmly at him; "It's good to be back."

"…Okay, how d'ya press 'Start?'" asked Luigi at the wheel. "One side, amateur," replied Junior as he gently pushed Luigi aside to take the wheel. All he had to do was press the center of the wheel, and the airship's rockets were set off with a **"BOOM!"**

United for the first time since who knows when, DK, the apes, the Zingers and the Kritters all waved their goodbyes to their airborne allies. They rejoiced as the K.S. Devastator floated into the clouds, knowing that Donkey Kong Island was finally theirs once again.

**That Next Day**

Abandoned and left for permanently frozen by the lakeside, The Mastermind had quietly and very patiently chiseled his way to freedom. He coughed and panted for air as ice and water dripped off his steel back and mask. His heart ran cold with bitter defeat, but in time he would smile again. Then he would laugh.

Of course! The airship still has a few hidden traps inside it- like Silver-Back, still entombed in a chamber from which he'll emerge as the ultimate marauding machine! Those onboard the airship never would have guessed that he would soon wake up and go on a rampage. The Mastermind crawled to his feet, balled his fists in the air, and let out a mighty laugh.

"WAH-hahahahahaha! You haven't won anything, you fools! Go on and try to take my castle; you'll never even get there! **This war is FAR from over**!!"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Italian Translations:**

"Ora morite!" "You die now!"

Fratello Big/older brother

"Otteniamoli!" "Let's get them!"


End file.
